Politically correct: all you need to know about this ideology
Nowadays it is almost completely impossible to open a newspaper article or watch a report on TV without hearing about politically correct. This ideology that has recently monopolized debates in everything from politics to culture aims to lay the foundations for a more equitable and inclusive society. However, despite the best intentions, there are not a few who openly contest this practice, fearing it could put a gag on freedom of speech and thought. If you are confused about this issue, you just have to read our article, in which we have tried to exemplify as much as possible what politically correct really means.
For many, a drift from politically correct is the concept of cultural appropriation. To find out more about this very topical issue, you just have to watch this video:
What is meant by politically correct
The politically correct expression refers to that ideological tendency with which one aspires to assume a respectful attitude and adopt an increasingly inclusive language towards people belonging to categories that are notoriously discriminated against, such as members of the LGBTQI + community or minorities. ethnic and religious. In recent years, this expression, a cast from the Anglo-American politically correct phrase, has entered the common jargon with a straight leg and has become the undisputed protagonist of public and private debates concerning politics, culture and society not only in the United States, but Also in Italy. It is a progressive cultural ideal that aims to eliminate behaviors and words that, being potentially offensive, could foment prejudices and wrong stereotypes on issues such as gender, sexual orientation, religion, age, physical appearance and health.
See also
Politically correct: history and evolution
The first time that the expression "politically correct" appears dates back to the period following the Russian revolution of 1917 and, more precisely, within the Marxist-Leninist vocabulary. At the time, this terminology had a completely different meaning than today and referred to the use of a language, especially by the media, which was propaganda and in solidarity with the regime. After that, this expression evolved over time and was adopted around the 1930s by US leftist movements that aimed to guarantee equality to minorities, giving voice to hitherto unknown realities, also through the formulation of correct language. and devoid of offensive categorizations. However, it was only between the 1970s and 1980s that the concept of politically correct as we understand it today was born.
The context is the academic field of the United States of America, placed at a historical moment in which universities were opening their doors for the first time to an increasing number of African American students or those belonging to other minorities. Initially, this completely new phenomenon had had disastrous consequences, starting a series of racist episodes that had shocked several universities. To curb the wave of xenophobic reactions, rectors and professors had introduced the so-called speech codes, that is linguistic codes devoid of any offensive and derogatory value to favor a positive encounter and contribute to the creation of a multicultural environment ruled by total harmony between the parties. These rules included, for example, the use of the expression Afro-Americans or African Americans (Afro-Americans) to replace words like blacks, niggers and negros, or the word "gay" instead of "sodomite" and "fagot".
A more inclusive and respectful language
The battle waged by the supporters of politically correct involves language above all. As we have emphasized several times throughout this article, the use of words has immense social value and can help to include or, conversely, exclude certain people, relegating them to the margins of society and depriving them of the right to dignified linguistic representation. . Today's debate on politically correct mainly concerns the realities that over the years have been harassed with insults and offenses aimed at their own political, sexual, ethnic and religious identity. So, let's see in more detail what are the concrete changes that the current of politically correct has helped to introduce or aims to introduce in the linguistic field and from what point of view:
- Ethnic and racial: in recent years, through the adoption of a politically correct attitude, the gradual replacement of the word "black", often used with a derogatory connotation, with the term "black" has begun. A fact, which in this sense caused quite a stir in Italy, ending up on the covers of every newspaper, dates back to the end of 2020, when, during the fifth edition of the "Big Brother Vip" program, the competitor Fausto Leali was expelled from the house after having repeatedly claimed the use of this expression. And it is always from this perspective that, over time, the aim is to discourage the use of the "color" formula, as it is ethnocentric and intrinsically disparaging.
- Gender: Those who embrace the ideals of politically correct believe that our language is profoundly sexist, and this by virtue of the patriarchal structures that society has always stood for. The goal is therefore to make the language as inclusive as possible also in this sense, introducing new words such as "lawyer" and "engineer" that take into account the presence and authority of women in areas in which, until a few years ago , these were mere white flies. Furthermore, in order to eradicate the androcentric perspective with which languages have been modeled up to now, it is increasingly common to read words not connoted from such a point of view, for example through the use of the final asterisk (for example all *) or of the neutral vowel schwa (“boy”).
- Sexual: Members of the LGBTQ + community have always been subject to discrimination and abuse because their sexuality or gender identity does not fall within the standard classifications. Just think of that offensive and colorful language that over the years has been adopted by most to refer to homosexuals and transsexuals. One of the struggles carried out by the ideology of politically correct is, in fact, that of unhinging this sick system at its roots and ensuring that everyone, from the editor of a newspaper to the customer of a bar, begins to treat these categories with due respect. breaking down taboos and wrong preconceptions. To do this, politically correct invites us warmly to abandon certain words and replace them with more appropriate and less "colorful" ones, preferring above all, for example, the word "gay". Another linguistic fact against which proponents of political correctness openly take sides is deadnaming, i.e. the use of the original name when referring to a transgender person who has undergone a transitional intervention from one sex to another. . Therefore, if a woman named Maria identifies as a man and decides to change her name to Mario, we must respect this choice and refer to him only and exclusively as Mario. It might seem trivial, but unfortunately it is a mistake in which the media continue to fall, showing very little regard for those who have faced a difficult and courageous path and consequently deserve due consideration.
- Professional: another area in which the culture of politically correct is keen to bring important innovations is the language related to professions. For years, in fact, certain jobs were considered second-class by the rest of the company, earning names that connoted them in a more or less covertly derogatory way. This is the case, for example, of terms such as "janitor" or "gravedigger", replaced today by "school operator" and "cemetery operator" respectively by supporters of politically correct. The intent of this operation, for some perhaps characterized by excessive hypersensitivity, is to restore dignity to the operators of the category, starting precisely from the use made of the language. Words, in fact, can gradually influence, by changing it, the opinion that people have with respect to certain realities.
Criticism and controversy
Despite its genuine and admirable intentions, the concept of politically correct over time has assumed a "negative meaning for some and is increasingly the center of controversy and discord in the cultural, political and social world. In politics, the conservative right and reactionary has taken the field several times, openly siding against the culture of politically correct, considered an ideological weapon with which the most radical wing of the left intends to implement a process of linguistic conformity and impose a single thought. , in fact, that the expression of a politically correct ideal at all costs is destined to paralyze the cultural debate, depriving artists, authorities and institutions of their freedom of thought and speech. It is for this reason that in 2020 a group of 150 writers and intellectuals, including Noam Chomsky, JK Rowling and Margaret Atwood, wrote an open letter highlighting ano the criticalities of this intellectual system that limits the comparison and exchange of ideas in favor of a hypocritical and exasperated respectability.
For some years in the United States and for a few months in Italy, there are those who have even been shouting at the dictatorship of the politically correct and are afraid that this ideological regime may have as a direct consequence another phenomenon that we hear more and more often about, namely say the "cancel culture", or the culture of cancellation or boycott. This expression refers to the progressive "elimination" of characters or products that do not fall within the standards of politically correct as they are considered insolent and disrespectful in the representation of certain social categories, primarily minorities. Emblematic in this sense is the rather recent case involving the voice actors of "The Simpsons". The producers of the cartoon have declared, in fact, that they will no longer allow white voice actors to give their voices to characters of other ethnicities, considering it a further manifestation of the oppression that Caucasian people have carried out over the years to the detriment of those of color. This ideological storm also involved an actress like Scarlett Johansson who, following various controversies, gave up a film that saw her play the role of a transgender man, believing it more right that that part was entrusted to a person belonging to the aforementioned category even in reality.
But the cases of cancel culture that have caused the greatest sensation do not end here and concern, for example, the cancellation from some well-known streaming platforms of episodes of TV series in which there were episodes of blackface or the removal from the world of cinema and / or the withdrawal of some films from theaters following scandals, mainly of a sexual nature, which involved the protagonists before they were even tried by law, as in the case of Kevin Spacey. Or the killing and disfigurement, following the killing of George Floyd by a policeman in Minneapolis, of statues depicting divisive characters of history, such as Christopher Columbus and the journalist Indro Montanelli, accused of having committed atrocities against indigenous peoples during colonialism.
The accusation that is made against politically correct concerns, therefore, the modus operandi with which this ideal seeks to restore a sort of social justice, focusing only on form (for example, the use of a certain word instead of another) and not on the substance of those problems it tries to solve. The most skeptical of this practice are also convinced that this ideology, born with the intention of quelling conflicts, on the contrary foments further discontent, generating a new controversy every day.
In reality, the proponents of politically correct thinking have never set out to resolve certain social issues, but to prepare a welcoming ground in which to recognize the dignity of the oppressed and engage in a discussion in the name of respectful and civil tones. For them, progress begins also and above all from words because it is from the way people express themselves that the degree of civilization of a society is assessed.
