How do you feel around the concept of ‘political correct’ language? Are you anxious? Fearful? Comfortable? Uncomfortable? Indifferent?
I have quite comfortable with the concept of politically correct language and believe its usage is a net positive for all.
Where do you think these feelings come from?
These feelings primarily come from my own through process on being inclusive and kind. I believe that language has power and that particular words do have harmful contexts. However, with that being said. I can at least understand the feelings of people who think their right to say certain things is being taken away. In certain situations, similar things have happened to me and I’ve had those feelings. But that is not to say I agree with their specific perspective. At the end of the day, more careful and inclusive language choice simply makes people more comfortable at almost no cost. I do not see how that is a harmful thing.
Can you identify people in your life – your friends, family, or co-workers – who are particularly passionate about this issue, regardless of their opinion? Where do you think that passion comes from?
I do have family who feel particularly strongly about the topic. They believe that the politically correct language is a concept that has been taken to far and stops people from saving what they believe. In my opinion, these means their feelings come from the root of their ideology and the thought that they are being stopped from sharing that ideology.
Is there an artist that you can identify who’s done a good job at being particularly inclusive? Can you identify an artist who’s made a mistake around PC language and has then sought to correct it? How do you feel about this?
This was a tricky question to answer as I have not been the most well versed, within my field, in this particularly topic. The biggest stumble I have seen around PC language, and the one that comes to mind, is JK Rowling. It is my opinion that JK Rowling has made numerous completely disrespectful remakes about members of the trans community. It has even caused the star of the Harry Potter films to speak out against this type of harmful language being used against trans individuals (Wheeler, 2020). She has also not sought to resolve this and instead is digging her heels on the comments.
References:
Wheeler, A. (2020). ‘Trans women are women’: Daniel Radcliffe speaks out after JK Rowling tweets. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/jun/08/daniel-radcliffe-jk-rowling-transgender-tweets.
