I have heard people quoting the phrase "political correctness", and yet I have failed to hear from ANYONE what it exactly is. Now, I have a problem with a word or phrase quoted by people with no definition. For instance, say I was saying "dagoogle" yet I never quoted to you the exact meaning of the word "dagoogle". Does this mean it has no meaning ? No, but if I can not give you succinct definition of the word "dagoogle", you should draw serious questions about the meaning of "dagoogle" and in fact doubt whether it indeed exists.
So I am doing the same with the word "political correctness", I'm going to ask that you:
1) define what political position you take in politics ( Conservative ? Liberal ? Centrist ?)
Speaking of words with no meaning...
I'm more or less on the left side of the political spectrum, if that's enough.
2) Define for me the meaning of the word "political correctness" ( no, don't look at a dictionary!)
3) Give me a definition by the dictionary
4) If the definition by the dictionary is different than YOUR definition, then COULD **YOUR** definition ( not from a dictionary) be wrong ?
It really depends on the context.
When it comes to speaking, a "politically correct" word or phrase is that which is "supposed" to be said. That is to say, the thing that will offend the fewest amount of people. It's not something typically said in earnest; it's purely meant to rally support.
When it comes to depictions in media, "politically correct" basically means having one of every minority. I regard it there as little more than a step up from tokenism, where the presence of "one of everything" isn't there for an honest depiction of diversity, but, again, for the sake of not being offensive to particular focus groups. The purpose is to have as wide an audience as possible in order to increase viewership, and by extension, profits.
Basically, it's a polite (shall we say, "politically correct"?) way of saying "pandering for views/votes/money".
Unfortunately, these dishonest usages of diversity and "proper language" have made it difficult for actual activists to be effective, since the two can often look the same on the surface. As a result, it can sometimes be used to refer to any sort of activist activity that a person might find uncomfortable, as a way to dismiss it. At least, that's my interpretation of such usages.
As for dictionary definitions, I'm going to use two dictionaries: the primary ones from dictionary.com, and the first one on Urban Dictionary.
From dictionary.com:
adjective
1.
marked by or adhering to a typically progressive orthodoxy on issues involving especially ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or ecology.
Abbreviation: PC, P.C.
And from Urban Dictionary:
A way that we speak in America so we don't offend whining *******.
Worth remembering that dictionaries are forever incomplete with their definitions, since words and terms always have deeper connotations that often go unrecorded. So yes, while I could be wrong, it's not dictionaries that are the final authority on such things; the final authority is whether or not other people understand what I'm saying.
