Political correctness
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Political correctness (PC or politically correct) is a term used to describe language, ideas, policies, or behaviour seen as seeking to minimize offence to racial, cultural, or other identity groups. The term is also used in a broader sense to describe adherence to any political or cultural orthodoxy. Conversely, the term politically incorrect is used to refer to language or ideas that may cause offense; or that are unconstrained by orthodoxy.
The term itself and its usage are hotly contested. The term "political correctness" is used almost exclusively in a pejorative sense.
The contemporary usage of the term emerged from conservative criticism of the New Left in the late Twentieth Century. The phrase was widely used in the debate about Allan Bloom's 1987 book The Closing of the American Mind, and gained further currency in response to Roger Kimball's Tenured Radicals (1990), and conservative author Dinesh D'Souza's 1991 book Illiberal Education, in which he condemned what he saw as liberal efforts to advance self-victimization and multiculturalism through language, affirmative action, and changes to the content of school and university curricula. The term was also the subject of articles in The New York Times and other media throughout the 1990s.
See also
- The Politically Incorrect Guide to English and American Literature
- Anti-racist mathematics
- Anti-bias curriculum
- Christmas controversy
- Common Era
- Euphemism treadmill
- Groupthink
- Gutmensch (German expression for "do-gooder")
- Hate speech
- Identity politics
- Logocracy
- Microaggression theory
- Newspeak
- Non-sexist language; see Satiric misspelling (Alternative political spelling) for a Spanish-language example.
- Pensée unique
- People-first language
- Politics and the English Language (1946 essay by George Orwell)
- Political consciousness
- Politically Correct Bedtime Stories
- Power (communication)
- Red-baiting
- Reverse discrimination
- Safe-space
- Social justice warrior
- Speech code
- Spin
- Sprachregelung
- Trigger warnings
- University of Pennsylvania controversies
- Wedge issue
- Xenocentrism