This doesn't necessarily apply to all our non-Europoean counter-parts, but to those who partially slot into the EU and to those who do firmly reside within the boundaries of the politically correct totalitarian organization of law bending brown nosers, we must now mind our language. The EU stated mid March that we're not allowed to say certain words which refer to marital status or gender, in favour of using terms which, in themselves, convert English into a "Gender-Neutral Language". Further reading below:
Sometimes, I really have to wonder. Parliament needs to watch Equilibrium now, that's just silly. Political correctness is practically a factor that perpetuates racism/sexism. Giving boundaries on what people should or should not think of. How can anyone think of the word "Fireman" as something that's offensive? I like being in America.
I am literally speechless on this matter.... Though the image of strapping these people into chairs and getting a tape that said all of the words they don't want to hear, to repeat them over and over and over again. /Facepalm How utterly pointless.
I skimmed most of this, but hot damn. Reminds me of when a city in San Francisco or somewhere tried changing "manhole" to "personhole" just because some idiots got offended at the term. This makes me mad, wtf makes people think they can dictate how people TALK? It's never going to work no matter how hard they try. It's pointless and stupid. Don't think have more important stuff to be doing, like not that? I really, really hate people who try to be politically correct all the time. It's major BS in my opinion. ): They can't change every word that has 'man' or 'men' in it just because there are some people out there that have sticks up their asses over nothing. You can't please everyone, and you damn sure aren't gonna do it that way. Wow that was really blunt, I hope I didn't offend anyone. I should keep my opinions to myself sometimes. xD
Haha, there you go on a tyrade and then apologize for possibly offending someone XD when political correctness is about avoiding being offensive, lol. I love it. Nah, I whole heartedly agree with you. It's a pointless, futile waste of time and money. It's just another way to spend taxpayer's monies. I'm a bit paranoid SOMETIMES - this sounds to me like another way to control people, and put them into a state of fear over avoiding certain words.
Does this mean I can eventually be a King instead of a Queen? Cause I always thought King sounded more powerful :) This reminds me a conversation my brother's friends were having; 'Am I a Miss or a Ms?' 'No, it's Mizz with a 'z', like Mizz Frizzle.' (Magic School Bus reference!) Next time I'm allowed to fill in the blanks I will probably write 'Mizz'. ANYWAYS, back to topic. I seriously thought this was a joke. Even as a feminist I'm not offended when someone says man-made. Man has pretty much morphed into meaning 'human' so there is no reason to be making a big deal about this.
All I can say is some people have too much time on their hands and that there are complete idiots that bring up the most stupid of lawsuits.
boy mate! you've gotta be kidding me! as you said they are wasting money, time and energy! just for a few words! personally they should be putting their minds on the global problems of the world.
How will we be able to tell what washrooms to use? What if women wearing skirts as an icon becomes politically incorrect too?
I went to a gay bar that didn't have separate washrooms, at least they didn't have signs up anywhere I don't think. But you could tell which was the girls side because there weren't any urinals xD
I think that poeple getting worked up over semantics that have lasted unchalenged for a hundered years is a sad example of the level of goverment bordom that is obviously manifesting itself in new and (not so) exciting ways. All executive power should be forced upon a select number of people who have exhibited actual talent and ability to run things and get good results out of projects. Unfortunatly I think most of Ramath-lehi would suddenly be on a most less frequint posting schedual under that plan........... Yes, I'm saying that only people who don't want the job are qualified to take it, so politics ahoy for my new "I don't trust politicions with the goverment, but I don't trust just myself either" election ticket. Anybody here old enough for prime ministry or presidential status?
This is ridiculous. I mean, titles are like a symbol of your age and status. You call a teacher Miss/Ms/Mrs/Ma'am or Mr/Sir depending on the teacher and your age. It's a mark of respect. If this comes into force I'm moving. This is stupid.
Where'd you move? America is generally paranoid about you looking more or less sideways at a cop holding a rifle, and this is an EU thing. The only places you have left are the middle and far East, and Canada. I would opt for Canada, but from what I understand the medical service isn't as great as it perhaps should be - but I'm comparing it to the National Health Service whose waiting list is 3 years XD so frying pan/fire comes to mind.
The most amazing restroom signs I've ever seen were at a center for urban arts downtown, and the signs were simply a thin, white capital letter on a black sign. Women had a W, men had an M, and they were just so spare and lovely. Of course, this wouldn't work quite so symmetrically in other languages, and it's not as universal as the image of triangle woman and square man, but it just shows that there are alternatives. Also, I really don't see why the intended shift from Miss/Mrs. to Ms. is such a bad thing. Within the current system, women are defined in relation to men (married/unmarried/divorced etc.). Simply by hearing a woman's name with one of these titles attached immediately tells you her marital status. But hearing Mr. doesn't tell you anything. I like the honorific of Ms. because then the focus is not a woman's marital status but her name. As for "firemen" and "air hostesses" and such, I think it's also neat that there's been a shift away from gender-specific career names. Language has a huge impact on the way people think (obviously), and even "subtle" changes like "fireman" to "firefighter" can have an immense effect on the way these professions are viewed. It just makes things more accessible for both sexes. Bloop a doop. That's just my take, though.
I'm of the mind that "Mr" is a title that is earned through age, as is "Miss". I nearly -always- call a woman "Miss", because that allows for more room than to assume she is married. I view "Mrs" as having been appended to "Miss", thus allowing the woman the choice between being known as being married or not. If she wants to stay anonymous on that level, then that's her decision. Men don't have a choice, really. We stay "Mr" by default, but we can have stuff like, "Duke", "Baron", "Count", "Professor" - but they're all non-descript terms. I think to retract the option women have is ludicrous. This whole "Ms" thing I do disagree with because you're either married or you're not. Fireman to fireperson or firefighter - to me - is degrading. Why should our only distinguising feature be stripped from well earned job placements? It's like pointing at someone and saying "you're a girl" is going to become tabboo because you are perhaps negatively discriminating against boys. For hostess, I think that it's also degrading to say "flight attendant" instead of saying "hostess" or what have you. "Hostess" is simply the acknowledgement of a particular female member of staff onboard to assist when necessary. People have harped on about equal opportunities - and women got it. They got equal opportunities. They can get virtually any job they want and ascend to virtually any position in that job, and live comfortable lives. 95-100 years ago, there'd be no sign of it. So, why strip them of that privelege? Why undermine the successes of cultures and individual people by outright stating that referring to these people by their distinguishing genetics, either prefixed or suffixed according to or inherited by their job title, as being "Sexist"? If anything it's a great thing. It makes people conscious of the intelligent, and actually natural, division in society. Altering it would be unnecessary. I'm not against change, as such. But I am against unnecessary change - and this, to me, is completely unneeded. I know of one person who flamed me almost every time she came across me for being a white Christian male. Big whoop. But I, and hundreds of millions of other adult males, promote women and promote their successes, and we take no joy (even if there was any to be obtained) from the different ways in which to address certain individuals regardless of gender. Personally, I'm always going to use my language. I'll never have an ID card; I'll never have a biometric record hanging from my belt loop; I'll never have someone scan my retina; I will never knowingly allow someone to put my medical records onto a centralised EU database; I'll never allow for my fingerprint to be taken - and I will never change the way I speak just because some EU mobster think-tank thinks that they - a congregation hardly a notable percentage of the entire population considered to be included in the EU - represent the majority when they pass such an inflamatory, invasive document. So much for democracy - the West's greatest excuse for invasive principles.
Woah woah woah. You'll never have an ID card Alex? I'm paranoid about not having my ID on me, I've used it at job interviews, at school, renewing my library card and in case I'm found dead in a ditch someone will be able to identify me. (However the one old piece of school ID that has my picture and someone else's name on it might be confusing) Thinking back on it now I might be understanding why someone may try to make this motion, I'm not sure how it is in British parliament but in Canada we have seen discrimination against women. And this discrimination is coming from high ranking political seat holders. Women have been, and still are being call b***hes and w***es in the work place, and this is completely unacceptable. And these types of things were only happening a few years ago and not much was done about it. And yes, women can almost get any job a man can get these days, but there is still a noticeable difference in pay. If one man and one woman hold the same position there is a very good chance the man is being paid more. So we aren't completely equal, not just yet, but we are getting closer. And as a way of turning it around, how do you guys feel about the term 'man-servant'?
The ID card remark pertains to the card that holds DNA and retinal data of the card holder. Biometrics, really, but they also mentioned here a separate type of card that they more directly referred to as the biometric card. I refuse to become some item easily erased by ctrl+alt+delete. I agree, though, that the uncalled for degradation of individuals is bad. If someone is acting like a complete and utter a$$hat then I think they deserve the crown, but for it to be the norm for people to refer to women (particularly in this sense) in that way, then it's definitely something gone wrong with the culture and mentality. Manslave? Immediately I think, "Spineless moron". I think for a man to become someone else's puppet is disgraceful - thus rendering him unworthy of being called a "man". A man is self-sufficient and respectable - someone you can look up to. Manslave? For the same token I wouldn't want to see a woman reduced to nothing more than a Go-fer. I would think that she's as bad for allowing herself to be disgraced in such a manner, but I'm also aware of the threats that face women in certain cultures if she doesn't "obey" certain instructions passed by whomever is "calling the shots". As aware as I may be of the manslave and women slaves in the "modern society", I am also of the opinion that these people -choose- to be that way. It's a conscious decision to allow another to dominate their lives for some sadistic, pathetic reasons. In Africa, the Middle and far East, enslaving women to do labour is abhorrent, but then we'll have to start debating culture shifts and then it becomes very awkward, given the current "you may not speak!" climate. An example of how limited our conversational range in the UK is, I was early for class one day. A dark skinned guy in my class went in ahead of me and was taking his time about it. We all take the mick out of him, and he does it back. Just so happens my course leader is dark skinned too, and has a mixed ethnicity. I said to the guy in class, "Get in there black boy" and my course leader freaked out; told me I can't speak like that. Well - seriously speaking - the guy in my class is black, and he's male. So all I did was verbalise a genetic observation. You can't say anything to anyone in this country any more without someone taking offense. Often times the ones taking offense and passing the stupid bills, mandates and laws are the ones LEAST affected by the topic being discussed. (The important thing to emphasise is that the dark skinned guy - nicknamed Greg - also rips it out of me. He turned around at me told me to, "Shut m'mouth, whitey" - all done in good spirit. No one cares in my class) What do you think? Open to everyone, d'you think there's just cause to outlaw as much as some have? And does anyone think that the people passing the laws are actually affected by the topics discussed at their summits?
i think banning the use of those terms is unnecessary -- the only utility is has is that it demonstrates to the general public that there is something problematic in the way that we use language. it causes people to act out in frustration, and it's really not a thing that can be readily policed. trying to enforce people to change their actions without warranting any reason or gaining any respect is stupid. but i do not enjoy being solely referred to as Miss. because with Miss comes a certain image, a certain image. and it's not an empowering one. and it lacks that power because it lacks the association with a man... whereas, think of the image you receive when you see Mrs. she's not usually bold, strong, or powerful. language is powerful and you need to be careful how you use it. it's not a matter of being overtly concerned with trivial matters. having gender specific job titles can be damaging in the some subversive of ways. i do think the use of 'hostess', compared to 'flight attendant' is better. because it attempts to take away the image that we have, an image that quietly subordinates a job position and a person. just in the same way we use 'firefighter', which to me is even more powerful, because 'fireman' puts men in a position of strength and dominance, because strong, broad-chested men is what we need to save the soft-bodied rest of society. :\ i'm not saying that men aren't suited to work was firefighters, because, physiologically speaking, they most often are. but i am saying that the word itself is impairing, and for all those courageous women who thought to themselves that they wanted to be a 'fireman' but felt it was too unbecoming of themselves... it's painful. and it's not their faults for being 'weak', 'spiritless' or whatnot. we've been told this. anyway, there is a line that needs to be drawn. you're right. we can't water down language such to the point that it becomes so vague and ambiguous that we have difficulty understanding. as for referring to the boy as a 'black boy', i do and don't think that's right. being clear and plain about your language is important, but you can only use language like that when you have gained the respect and understanding of your peers. if you are in a position of social dominance then you need to make it clear to others, when you're going to use that language, that you're aware of that position and understand how it can be used to oppress others. otherwise, it can come off as offensive, hurtful, slanderous, you name it. just like if i got referred to as a dyke -- that can be very hurtful, subordinating, and powerful language. if i perceive it to be coming from someone who doesn't understand and respect that, then there's no way that i'll tolerate it. and now i have another giant paper to write.
I would like to say in all pervertedness, i hope that happens. More accidental peep-shows. :P kidding. ---I'm Back Baby---
