Political correctness is the belief that language and practices that could offend political sensibilities should be eliminated or suppressed. A debate over political correctness emerged in the 1980s, and centered on the use of language that was perceived as derogatory toward minorities, or that displayed sexist or racist tendencies. However, the debate over individual phrases masks a much broader debate about culture and politics in the United States. The excesses of political correctness have been magnified to support political beliefs, and have entered the general culture, obfuscating real issues.
The first recorded use of the term “politically correct” was in the 1793 Supreme Court case Chisholm v. Georgia where it was used in its literal form to refer to a correct interpretation of the law. The first use in the 20th century was in the 1930s when American Communists used it to refer to the correct interpretation of the party line, frequently in a self-deprecating manner. The term gained further usage in the aftermath of the Civil Rights and feminist movements of the 1960s. During the 1970s, careful attention was paid to the use of language that signified an unequal balance of power or that contained implicit notions of racism. Advocates of social change argued that such terms should be replaced with less loaded ones. Words such as “Native American” or “chairperson” were to be preferred over more stereotyped ones such as “Indian” or “chairman.”
In the 1980s and early 1990s political correctness exploded on the national scene. Articles in the New York Times and Newsweek in 1991 drew attention to fierce debates on college campuses and in the media, where attempts at rectifying gender and racial prejudices and discrimination, many believed, had led to the censoring of free speech. The cover of New York magazine on January 21, 1991, asked, “Are You Politically Correct?” and the article listed a range of terms from the obvious, such as African American, to the plainly ridiculous, such as “animal companion” rather than “pet.” This debate, in essence, shrouded the conservative movement criticism of what it perceived as leftist domination of many educational, religious, and cultural institutions in America. It was argued that leftist attempts to seek inclusivity and impose cultural diversity had led to the forced imposition of certain political values, thereby suppressing intellectual diversity and restricting free speech. Critics of this conservative complaint against political correctness charged that the debate was just a sensationalistic straw man designed to advance a conservative movement and its attacks on liberal notions of education, scholarship, and culture.
The debate has since expanded to include a wide range of cultural forms, from smoking in public, and the presentation of violence in movies and on TV, to sexually explicit lyrics of pop music. In some instances, “politically incorrect” served as a badge of authenticity for many conservative commentators and politicians. Critics of the conservative movement’s critique have since charged that attacks on political correctness have become an excuse to indulge in inappropriate and offensive speech and behavior. The underlying debate continues over the extent of the ideological and political ramifications of language and culture in the United States.
See also aeeirmative action; conservative movement; EEMINISM; MULTICULTURALISM.
Further reading: Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., The Disuniting of America: Reflections on a Multicultural Society, rev. ed. (New York: W. W. Norton, 1998).
—Stephen Hardman
World History
