Moving from PC (Politically Correct) to PC (Personally Caring) Language
Language is never neutral. I am a professional story artist and I have witnessed again and again storytellers, teachers, ministers and librarians, with the best of intentions, telling their audiences stories about slavery. They are trying to right a wrong; they know we were never taught the cruel realities of that economic system. However, throughout the telling they continuously use the word “slave.” The word “slave” certainly seems like a neutral word describing a specific reality. But several years ago some African American tellers pointed out to me that a word such as “slave” denotes a certain viewpoint, the oppressor’s viewpoint. It reduces people to a de-humanized role. Instead, when we use words such as “people who were enslaved’, or “people who were kidnapped” or “people who were held captive,” we get an accurate description of who were the doers and who were the done-tos.
I’m not talking about choosing our words to be “politically correct,” but to become more aware of what we are communicating – intentionally and unintentionally. This debate over language isn’t arbitrary or frivolous. One group has had the power to name things, has had the power for so long that we are blind to the biases and put downs associated with so many “common” words. The greatest sign of respect is to call people what they want to be called.
I know this can seem confusing. But make it simple: ask the people you are involved with or plan to tell stories about what they prefer to be called. Not in a manner that puts them under a microscope or asks them to speak for their group such as: “What do “you all” want to be called?” (“Well, all twelve million of us have taken a vote and…”) Instead, ask people as individuals what they prefer and be ready to share your preferences as well. This means we have to make contact; this means we have to talk to each other.
Instead of feeling put out by the need to consider language, we could rejoice in the fact that we’re finally becoming a multi-voiced nation. People are beginning to name themselves and no one group of anything wants to be called any one thing.
Language is a living, breathing, ever-changing art form. We could take the attitude that it’s interesting and even fun to play with words to get descriptions that are more clear, more accurate and more sensitive. We take the time not to be “right” but because we care not to hurt each other. When we choose different words we help people see a different reality. A different shared reality is the foundation upon which we can build a transformed society that works for everyone.
This article may be reprinted when this full byline is used:
Susan O’Halloran is a story artist, workshop presenter, television personality and keynote speaker whose work explores the complex issues of social justice. She is an author of four books plus diversity curriculums, CDs and films. The Chicago Reader says O’Halloran “has mastered the Irish art of telling stories that are funny and heart-wrenching at the same time.” For a copy of a free teleseminar with Susan, go to www.susanohalloran.com
* Photo purchased from istockphoto.com
A Hair Brain Idea
One day I was shopping in a drugstore with a friend who is black. I was buying some mousse for my hair. I walked down a center aisle and picked up a canister of styling foam. She pointed to the sign two aisles away labeled, “Ethnic hair products.”
“Now, why,” she asked, “is my Dixie Peach pomade labeled ‘ethnic’ but that gooey stuff in your hand is not?
She was, of course, talking about the one thousand and one ways she as an African American female is made to feel like “the other.” There are “neutral” or “regular” hair products (that is, the majority’s hair care products) in the center aisle and, then, there’s “ethnic hair products” two aisles over on the wall. She, like so many people who are not white, are constantly told that they reside on the periphery. Are they not all hair products and isn’t my red, curly Irish hair also “ethnic”?
I see the same thing happen in schools. In textbooks I read chapters labeled, “American settlers” and, then, a special box labeled, “Black settlers.” Are they not all settlers?
Okay, I’ll admit we have moved a step closer to being an inclusive society because consumer needs or contributions that were once invisible, not even on the shelves or in the books, are now acknowledged, but we haven’t gone far enough. What is considered “white” and everything that goes with it – hair, food, clothing, communication styles, accomplishments – is still central in our culture. In fact so central that it’s not even seen as just one way of doing things. Whiteness just is. It’s neutral. The standard. Normal.
As someone identified as white, having the awareness that I am a multicultural being – not regular, normal or neutral – is the beginning of acknowledging that my experiences and habits are just as unique and quirky to someone else as theirs can be to me. With this increased awareness and our actions to equalize power in our society, no one group will occupy the center. One day, all of us will.
This article may be reprinted when this full byline is used:
Susan O’Halloran is a story artist, workshop presenter, television personality and keynote speaker whose work explores the complex issues of social justice. She is an author of four books plus diversity curriculums, CDs and films. The Chicago Reader says O’Halloran “has mastered the Irish art of telling stories that are funny and heart-wrenching at the same time.” For a copy of a free teleseminar with Susan, go to www.susanohalloran.com
* Photo purchased from istockphoto.com