In this paper I will discuss the concept and the historical origin of political correctness in America and how it managed its way to Great Britain. The discussion will be followed by a section, describing my own research. The main purpose of this investigation is to determine if "political correctness" exists in Great Britain and if there are differences between newspapers and magazines.
In 1990 and 1991 the political correctness debates started in the USA. These debates received great attention in the media as a series of articles in Newsweek, U.S. News and World Report, the New York Times, Time, the Village Voice, and Atlantic Monthly was written. It was also featured in numerous magazine covers and nationwide talk shows on TV. (c.f. Calhoun 2001: 1337). Due to this great popularity it has been a "'household word' in Anglophone North America since the early 1990" (Auer 2004: 3). Nonetheless it is very hard to define.
The terms "politically correct" and "political correctness" came from the Left movement, where it was used ironically to describe people who were too orthodox. Now it is often used by the Right to describe the Left. Its meaning has also been blurred by the mass media. The stems of the concept are most likely situated in the social movement culture of the late sixties. Important movements are "The American Civil Rights movement", "The Women's Liberation" and "The Gay and Lesbian Liberation". Political correctness came to Great Britain shortly after it boomed in the US. Its development was similar, but on a much lower scale.
My own research showed that there were more occurrences of words with a –man suffix in newspapers than in magazines. The most surprising fact was, that there was not even one word with the suffix –person. I had to restrict research area to the suffixes of –man, –woman and –person, otherwise it would have gone beyond the scope of my paper.
Keywords: political correctness, politische Korrektheit, Diskriminierung, Vorurteile,
Table of Contents
1. INTRODUCTION
2. ‘POLITICAL CORRECTNESS’ AND ‘POLITICALLY CORRECT’ AS TERMS
2.1 DEFINITIONS OF POLITICAL CORRECTNESS (P.C.)
2.2 ORIGINS, USAGE AND MEANING OF THE PHRASES THROUGHOUT THEIR HISTORY
3. PC AS AN IDEA: SOCIO-HISTORICAL SETTING AND CONCEPTS
3.1 THE AMERICAN CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
3.2 IDENTITY POLITICS
3.3 THE WOMEN’S LIBERATION MOVEMENT
3.4 GAY AND LESBIAN LIBERATION
3.5 STRUGGLES AGAINST THE DISCRIMINATION ON GROUNDS OF AGE AND DISABILITY
4 THE BEGINNING OF THE P.C. DEBATE IN GREAT BRITAIN
5. RESEARCH PART
5.1 SOURCES AND METHOD
5.2 FINDINGS
5.2.1 Newspapers
5.2.2 Magazines
6. CONCLUSION
Research Objectives and Themes
This study explores the historical origins and conceptual development of "political correctness" (P.C.) in the United States and its subsequent emergence in Great Britain. The primary objective is to investigate the presence of P.C.-related language in British media by examining the usage of gender-specific suffixes in newspapers and magazines to determine if linguistic shifts toward more inclusive terms have occurred.
- Historical context of the political correctness movement in the USA.
- Connection between social reform movements (Civil Rights, Feminism, Gay Rights) and language.
- Transition and adaptation of the P.C. debate into the British media landscape.
- Linguistic analysis of suffix usage (man/woman/person) in contemporary British press.
- Comparative analysis of newspapers versus magazines regarding inclusive language.
Excerpt from the Book
3.2 Identity politics
These movements were closely connected to the concept of "identity politics" and disappointedly turned away from the liberal civil rights movement (cf. Auer 2004: 31-32). They were disappointed because the civil rights movement could only change laws and eliminate overt discrimination, but not the social and economical inequalities. In the late 60s these groups changed its view about themselves. They became more self-confident and began to dedicate themselves to their own culture, values and identity. Many of these groups declared a discriminatory inequality to a main element of their self-description. This was primarily done to call attention to the continual discrimination. A good example would be the movement on behalf of black (Black Power, Black is Beautiful), which showed that their skin colour was a source of pride rather than shame. (cf. Greil 1998: 18)
Summary of Chapters
1. INTRODUCTION: Outlines the scope of the paper, focusing on the history of political correctness and the research regarding its presence in British media.
2. ‘POLITICAL CORRECTNESS’ AND ‘POLITICALLY CORRECT’ AS TERMS: Defines the core terminology and provides a historical overview of how these phrases evolved from leftist irony to mass media debate.
3. PC AS AN IDEA: SOCIO-HISTORICAL SETTING AND CONCEPTS: Analyzes the roots of P.C. within 1960s social movements, including Civil Rights, feminism, and gay rights, and their influence on language.
4 THE BEGINNING OF THE P.C. DEBATE IN GREAT BRITAIN: Describes the importation and reception of the P.C. debate from the US into the British cultural and media sphere.
5. RESEARCH PART: Details the empirical study, explaining the methodology of analyzing British newspapers and magazines for word usage and gender-inclusive suffixes.
6. CONCLUSION: Synthesizes the research findings, noting that while P.C. is present in Britain, language trends show a preference for gendered labels rather than the adoption of the suffix "-person".
Keywords
Political correctness, P.C., Great Britain, identity politics, civil rights movement, women's liberation, gay and lesbian liberation, linguistics, media analysis, suffix usage, discourse, sexism, ageism, social reform, verbal hygiene.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core subject of this paper?
The paper examines the historical development of the concept of "political correctness" and analyzes its existence and usage within British newspapers and magazines.
What are the central themes discussed in the work?
Central themes include the socio-historical background of P.C. in US social movements, the transformation of language related to marginalized groups, and the comparative analysis of media language.
What is the primary research goal?
The goal is to determine if "political correctness" exists in Great Britain and to identify significant differences in how newspapers and magazines handle inclusive language.
Which scientific methodology does the author employ?
The author uses a comparative linguistic analysis, examining specific British newspapers and magazines to track the frequency of gender-specific suffixes like "-man" versus "-woman" or "-person".
What is covered in the main body of the work?
The body covers the definitions and origins of P.C., the role of social reform movements (Civil Rights, Gender, Age, Disability), and the findings of the author's empirical media research.
Which keywords best describe this research?
Key terms include political correctness, identity politics, linguistics, media analysis, and socio-historical movements.
Did the research find evidence of "person"-suffix usage?
No, the research concluded that none of the examined newspapers or magazines contained words using the gender-neutral suffix "-person".
How do newspapers and magazines differ in their linguistic approach?
The findings indicate that newspapers show a higher frequency of gendered suffix usage, while magazines appear to have simpler language and, in some cases, were identified as failing to include diverse minority perspectives.
- Citation du texte
- Christoph Burger (Auteur), 2005, Political Correctness, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/119578
