Political Correctness

The phrase “political correctness” (as well as its variant, “P.C.”) has several potential meanings but generally denotes efforts that aim to remove offensive or potentially offensive language toward African Americans, as well as other racial/ethnic minority groups, women, gays and lesbians, and other historically marginalized social groups, from print and public speech. The phrase is also used in reference to efforts designed to bring about greater visibility and inclusion of such groups within academic curricula, particularly within literature and social science courses. Critics of these efforts most often use the expression “political correctness” in a pejorative context.

Nevertheless, the principles of political correctness live on, particularly in higher education. These principles attract both supporters and opponents, depending upon one's personal perspective as to whether such principles are regarded as desirable for American society. At its core, political correctness promotes the concept of increased awareness and sensitivity toward racial/ethnic, religious, gender, sexuality, and other minority groups as a worthwhile goal for American society, but not everyone agrees with either this principle or the manner in which this goal is implemented.

Political correctness is a relatively recent phenomenon that arose from the increased visibility and awareness of the social experiences of minority groups in American society in the wake of the civil rights, women's rights, and gay rights movements. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, several universities across the United States sought to diversify their campuses by actively recruiting minority students and faculty, as well as designing to be more inclusive of non-white and nonmale perspectives and requiring students to take multicultural courses as part of the general education curriculum.

Some universities implemented speech codes, which banned certain words or language deemed offensive from campus, or established disciplinary procedures for persons who uttered such language. At times, these policies constituted censorship, an unconstitutional infringement on freedom of speech, so many universities abolished speech codes by the mid- to late 1990s in favor of promoting calls for greater tolerance of diversity on campus.

Debates over political correctness reflect larger sociocultural divisions in American society over desired values and ethics, along with the general manner in which citizens envision the nation. Given this, battles over political correctness represent one dimension of the nation's contentious “culture wars,” which have received considerable media coverage since the 1970s.