It seems like everyone except me has seen the "South Park" episode about being politically correct. And surprise! Those who have seen the cartoon episode have no idea what being PC is. These people still use words like “gay” to describe something that sounds lame or call their buddy a "f****t" when he tells a "gay" joke. Most, if not all, of those people either truly do not understand or, more likely, are just choosing to ignore that they are being an a*****e.
I do not expect everyone to always be hyper-sensitive of the rhetoric that they are using, but I do expect them to be a decent person. In 2016, it is important to at least acknowledge the importance of a few key words and situations. With the political and social environment we live in, no one should be saying "gay" when describing something negatively. Obviously we should not have been doing that five years ago, but it is time for everyone to get their a** in shape when it comes to heteronormativity. "Gay," "retard" and the "n word" (even without the “hard r”) are terms that should all be avoided. I do not mean to be telling you how to live your life, but I am telling you how to live your life like a non-a*****e.
Along the same lines, it is important to be aware of pronoun usage. Gender-based pronouns are so deeply engrained in English that I doubt the need for a gender-neutral pronoun will ever be addressed (Please Google "Ze of Xe" for more information). But, that does not mean that you can’t start being more gender-neutral.
Some quick tips about Gender-based pronouns:
1. Don’t address someone by a he/she unless you know for certain that that is the gender that they identify with. I know a lot of gender is based on inference, but disregard all inference you may have.
2. In situations where you do not know, just use “they/them.” I personally know that this one can be hard because it can be so grammatically incorrect, so if you struggle with that – remember that it is always a safe bet to just address someone by their name.
3. Address your own pronouns so that others feel comfortable speaking up about what their pronouns are. It all starts with dialogue.
I think the best advice that I can give on being politically correct is to just become more aware of the language that you are using. If you are speaking negatively about something, don’t use adjectives that discriminate, belittle or marginalize a group – and take extra notice if those words are about a minority group (because in most situations, they are).
It would take a lot of energy to analyze every bit of your vocabulary in order to be politically correct, but hey, at least you're trying!
