Donna Flagg

Political Correctness: My, how far we’ve come
June 19, 2008

Boy, talk about the pendulum swinging one way and then back again. We started out in the “PC” revolution where it seemed that every descriptive label used in our language was being called into question. Today, particularly in the workplace, that same political correctness has evolved and embedded itself into our corporate lexicon to the point that we don’t even know it’s there anymore.

But yesterday one of my business partners reminded me of just how crazy it was back when the whole “PC” movement began. We’d been talking about our days together at CHANEL when she recalled an exchange that took place during a big meeting with a big account.

Apparently, someone had asked her to describe someone else who had worked in one of the stores. So she (my partner) went on to say that this person was, “short, brunette, with a bob and glasses.” Well wouldn’t you know, someone was offended? So much so that she requested that my partner please refer to short people as “vertically challenged individuals.” In the meeting (as if there weren’t probably more important things on the agenda) she expressed her discomfort and dissatisfaction with the reference to calling a short person….well, short.  

But it makes you wonder.  What was so wrong with the word “short” or being short? I found her desire to rename it more offensive than anything. Short is short. And certainly, it’s not bad. “Challenged” makes it sound as though you can’t do something - like grow more - which you can’t.  So, which is worse? 

At least nowadays, people can be a lot of things without other people feeling a compulsion to call them something else.

Posted by Donna Flagg on June 19, 2008 | Comments (7)