Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The University of New Hampshire has created a "Bias-Free Language Guide," which it says "is not a means to censor but ... presents practical revisions in our common usage that can ... break barriers relating to diversity." It includes a long list of "problematic/outdated" words, along with a "preferred" alternative. A search suggests the guide was posted in late May, but it's just today grabbing headlines. Why the interest? For one, as Jonathan Chait puts it at New York, the guide "indicates that the list of terms that can give offense has grown quite long indeed." A sampling:
Preferred: people of advanced age, old people*
Problematic/Outdated: older people, elders, seniors, senior citizen
*Old people has been reclaimed by some older activists who believe the standard wording of old people lacks the stigma of the term “advanced age”. Old people also halts the euphemizing of age. Euphemizing automatically positions age as a negative.
Preferred: person who lacks advantages that others have, low economic status related to a person’s education, occupation and income
Problematic: poor person, person from the ghetto
Note: Some people choose to live a life that is not connected to the consumer world of material possessions. They do not identify as “poor”.
Preferred: person of material wealth
Problematic: rich
Being rich gets conflated with a sort of omnipotence; hence, immunity from customs and the law. People without material wealth could be wealthy or rich of spirit, kindness, etc.
Preferred: people of size
Problematic/Outdated: obese*, overweight people
"Obese" is the medicalization of size, and "overweight" is arbitrary; for example, standards differ from one culture to another.
Note: "Fat", a historically derogatory term, is increasingly being reclaimed by people of size and their allies, yet for some, it is a term that comes from pain.
Preferred: US citizen or Resident of the US
Problematic: American
Note: North Americans often use “American” which usually, depending on the context, fails to recognize South America
Preferred: First-year students
Problematic/Outdated: freshmen
Preferred: Other Sex
Problematic/Outdated: Opposite Sex
It appears some folks have too much time on their hands!!!
The University of New Hampshire has created a "Bias-Free Language Guide," which it says "is not a means to censor but ... presents practical revisions in our common usage that can ... break barriers relating to diversity." It includes a long list of "problematic/outdated" words, along with a "preferred" alternative. A search suggests the guide was posted in late May, but it's just today grabbing headlines. Why the interest? For one, as Jonathan Chait puts it at New York, the guide "indicates that the list of terms that can give offense has grown quite long indeed." A sampling:
Preferred: people of advanced age, old people*
Problematic/Outdated: older people, elders, seniors, senior citizen
*Old people has been reclaimed by some older activists who believe the standard wording of old people lacks the stigma of the term “advanced age”. Old people also halts the euphemizing of age. Euphemizing automatically positions age as a negative.
Preferred: person who lacks advantages that others have, low economic status related to a person’s education, occupation and income
Problematic: poor person, person from the ghetto
Note: Some people choose to live a life that is not connected to the consumer world of material possessions. They do not identify as “poor”.
Preferred: person of material wealth
Problematic: rich
Being rich gets conflated with a sort of omnipotence; hence, immunity from customs and the law. People without material wealth could be wealthy or rich of spirit, kindness, etc.
Preferred: people of size
Problematic/Outdated: obese*, overweight people
"Obese" is the medicalization of size, and "overweight" is arbitrary; for example, standards differ from one culture to another.
Note: "Fat", a historically derogatory term, is increasingly being reclaimed by people of size and their allies, yet for some, it is a term that comes from pain.
Preferred: US citizen or Resident of the US
Problematic: American
Note: North Americans often use “American” which usually, depending on the context, fails to recognize South America
Preferred: First-year students
Problematic/Outdated: freshmen
Preferred: Other Sex
Problematic/Outdated: Opposite Sex
I agree that most of these are just too wordy for our culture. All but one is.
Why would "other sex" be "preferred?" I was hoping we were moving towards a more scientifically based language (but we're obviously not since we did away with "mentally retarded.")
"Overweight" is NOT arbitrary and neither is "obese." Just look at the many BMI charts online!
And "old people" has been reclaimed by some activists. REALLY?? It seems whoever wrote this is spending too much time in "old people forums." "Old people stops the euphemism of aging." So... THAT euphemism is okay but all others must be changed. WTF?! Seriously?? Who worked on this list??
And BTW, consistently late people are now officially to be called: "chrono-challenge!"
The worst for me was the American one. This is the "United States of AMERICA." The fact that the continents share the name America is irrelevant because it is in our country's name. There is nothing wrong with calling those who are from the United States of America American. What's the "better" alternative derived straight from the name, "United States-ians"? "United Staters"? No matter what the idiots of the PC, perpetually and professionally offended crowd says, I am an American and I will gladly say it to their faces over and over and over again.
That's what happens when you start creating positions like "Dean of Diversity". What are those people going to do all day but sit around and write crap like this?
Link goes to a default page.
Looks like they took the guide down.
(Too bad, I wanted to look up some terms in it to see their current PC status.)
That's what happens when you start creating positions like "Dean of Diversity". What are those people going to do all day but sit around and write crap like this?
Preferred: Poopoo, Doodoo, Kacki, Lincoln logs, Ant rollers, Tootsi Rolls, Dark Matter and ManUare. Not preferred: Crap. That is often associated with full pants, droopy drawers and skid marks. You have been schooled. Please pick up your sheepskin, I mean Diploma at the door.
Reading the original post and the comments on this thread, I found myself first laughing and then shaking my head in disbelief.
When did calling things as they are become outdated? (Don't bother answering that because I know that "politically correct" language started to become obvious about fifty years ago with the various "liberation" movements and has escalated rapidly ever since then.)
The only thing I wish in this regard is that people would agree as to what to call people who have very light skin and people who have very dark skin. Very few people in the U.S. are actually, in fact, white or black; and not all light-skinned people have entirely European ancestors, and not all dark-skinned people have entirely African ancestors.
However, having said that, I personally think that skin color should not be relevant at all, unless it is used to describe a missing child or an escaped dangerous criminal, for example. Anyway, with all the mixing of races and nationalities, I don't think that most people in the U.S. will be "pure" (or even mostly pure) anything 100 years from now.
P.S. Please don't misunderstand anything I said above because I am mostly against using any kind of slurs or insults against almost anyone, with very few exceptions -- for example, child molesting "perverts. (Or should I say "psychologically damaged people with pedophiliac tendencies"?)
A university spokeswoman said Huddleston was not aware of the guide until this week. It was created by a "small group of community members," though a report submitted by the President's Commission on the Status of People with Disabilities last year describes it as a "4-commission effort." The college also has a commission on women, people of color and gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues. The leaders of the four groups did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday.
Spokeswoman Erika Mantz said it's not clear to whom the commissions are supposed to report. Those reporting lines are under review, she said.
And they wonder why tuition costs keep going through the roof. Lots of periphery stuff that these institutions are having trouble even keeping track of.
Preferred: place where people go in order to receive unfair privilege
Problematic: university
Since not everyone has the access or means to attend a university it should be noted that attending such a place grants an unfair advantage over all others and leads to economic injustice
The University of New Hampshire has created a "Bias-Free Language Guide," which it says "is not a means to censor but ... presents practical revisions in our common usage that can ... break barriers relating to diversity." It includes a long list of "problematic/outdated" words, along with a "preferred" alternative. A search suggests the guide was posted in late May, but it's just today grabbing headlines. Why the interest? For one, as Jonathan Chait puts it at New York, the guide "indicates that the list of terms that can give offense has grown quite long indeed." A sampling:
Preferred: people of advanced age, old people*
Problematic/Outdated: older people, elders, seniors, senior citizen
*Old people has been reclaimed by some older activists who believe the standard wording of old people lacks the stigma of the term “advanced age”. Old people also halts the euphemizing of age. Euphemizing automatically positions age as a negative.
Preferred: person who lacks advantages that others have, low economic status related to a person’s education, occupation and income
Problematic: poor person, person from the ghetto
Note: Some people choose to live a life that is not connected to the consumer world of material possessions. They do not identify as “poor”.
Preferred: person of material wealth
Problematic: rich
Being rich gets conflated with a sort of omnipotence; hence, immunity from customs and the law. People without material wealth could be wealthy or rich of spirit, kindness, etc.
Preferred: people of size
Problematic/Outdated: obese*, overweight people
"Obese" is the medicalization of size, and "overweight" is arbitrary; for example, standards differ from one culture to another.
Note: "Fat", a historically derogatory term, is increasingly being reclaimed by people of size and their allies, yet for some, it is a term that comes from pain.
Preferred: US citizen or Resident of the US
Problematic: American
Note: North Americans often use “American” which usually, depending on the context, fails to recognize South America
Preferred: First-year students
Problematic/Outdated: freshmen
Preferred: Other Sex
Problematic/Outdated: Opposite Sex
Hopefully, college students won't start referring to a guide before speaking.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
No matter what the idiots of the PC, perpetually and professionally offended crowd says, I am an American and I will gladly say it to their faces over and over and over again.
