Bias-free language guide at University of NH

[Dawnlight]

http://www.campusreform.org/?ID=6697

Some problems words:

American
Freshman
Mailman
Overweight
Illegal Alien
Mothering
Fathering
Caucasian
Healthy

What happened to NH? They are supposedly the "Live free or die" state.

 

[Dizlvr]

July 29, 2015

"While individuals on our campus have every right to express themselves, I want to make it absolutely clear that the views expressed in this guide are NOT the policy of the University of New Hampshire. I am troubled by many things in the language guide, especially the suggestion that the use of the term ‘American’ is misplaced or offensive. The only UNH policy on speech is that it is free and unfettered on our campuses. It is ironic that what was probably a well-meaning effort to be ‘sensitive’ proves offensive to many people, myself included."

— UNH President Mark W. Huddleston

 

[Jdbsfw]

Mark Huddleston needs to go back to P.C. reeducation camp, how dare he wander off script.....

 

[EMAW_KSU]

There was something similar to this in California earlier this summer.

 

[fly girl]

I'm glad the president of UNH disavowed this. But the question remains, wouldn't he have seen this before it went out on campus? How did this get to publication without someone in authority thinking its a tad off the deep end?

I don't condone hurtful words used against others -- but come on you can't say American, Mothering, Fathering, or Caucasian? Good grief this world gets too worked up over the tiniest minutia.

 

[Dawnlight]

I think the president's statement is more a saving face tactic. If this bias-free speech guide had been praised instead of mocked he would be taking credit.

 

[DisneyOma]

I'm glad the president of UNH disavowed this. But the question remains, wouldn't he have seen this before it went out on campus? How did this get to publication without someone in authority thinking its a tad off the deep end?

I don't condone hurtful words used against others -- but come on you can't say American, Mothering, Fathering, or Caucasian? Good grief this world gets too worked up over the tiniest minutia.

Caucasian is just a very misused word - it classifies (incorrectly) by skin color, when it refers to a region between Europe and Asia. Its use dates back a few centuries, and it is just outdated now. I may have pale skin, but I am not Caucasian. Geneology shows no ancestor from that area for me, on record anyways.

Mothering and fathering are referring to stereotypes.

American - we just don't have a short word for "I am a citizen of the United States of America", so some dummy said he was American, forgetting that people from other countries are also on the American continents. It's not really offensive in my book, just stupid and narrowminded to assume all Americans are from the United States.

 

[TLSnell1981]

http://www.campusreform.org/?ID=6697

Some problems words:

American
Freshman
Mailman
Overweight
Illegal Alien
Mothering
Fathering
Caucasian
Healthy

What happened to NH? They are supposedly the "Live free or die" state.

Sadly, it's not just NH.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Caucasian is just a very misused word

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caucasian_race


There is the argument that the means of words change over time. "Caucasian" has become to mean "all Europeans" and even "white people" in general, regardless of the origin of the word.

Personally, I don't like labels at all. Although sometimes they are necessary when understanding the social context of an individual's experiences.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Mailman

Getting rid of "mailman" doesn't bother me in the slightest. What happens if it is a woman? "Mailwoman"? Why make the distinction? For that matter, why are there different words for thespians? Actor vs actress? Who cares? Steward vs stewardess?

 

[Planogirl]

Am I the only one who laughed when I read this? I can't believe how hung up people get over words.

 

[DisneyOma]

My daughter's women's college calls students 'first years' instead of freshmen. I love it - reminds me of Harry Potter.

Words do change in meaning, but the old meaning is still there in the root and history of the word. A certain "N" word comes to mind.

Times change, people become more open to accepting others, and we stop categorizing and labeling - that's my dream!

 

[EMom]

American sounds a lot better than United Statesian, so I'm not giving it up.

As for Caucasian, when we adopted from Russia, we were told it was a big mistake to put "Caucasian" on your adoption paperwork for the type of child you were seeking. Some Americans thought Caucasian (White to us) was a euphemism for saying they wanted a stereotypical blonde haired/blue eyed Russian child. But to a Russian, it meant someone from the Caucasus area and the parents would be presented with a child with a quite dark complexion, which resulted in confusion. The two countries use the word Caucasian very differently and Russia is a vast country with people of many different ethnic backgrounds.

 

[Colleen27]

Eh, I think there's a such thing as going too far but I don't see a problem with some of it. Mothering/fathering have always bothered me because they both carry a strong implication that parenting duties are divided by gender and beyond pregnancy and breastfeeding I don't believe that's true.

I thought mailman (and fireman and policeman and all other gender-specific career terms) had more or less gone extinct except among older generations. We all know women do those jobs, why should the title be based on outdated norms? I suppose freshmen is on the list for that reason, and to be honest I'd never really thought about that before because in general use it does refer to both boys and girls.

And "illegal alien" is right up there with "welfare queen" as a politically charged term designed to evoke an emotional response and obfuscate rational discussion. Undocumented immigrant conveys the same information without the appeal to outrage.

There are some I don't understand. I'm not sure how referring to someone's nationality or to a medically accurate classification of their weight is in any way biased. But I don't have a problem with what they're trying to do in general. There's nothing wrong with thinking a bit about the words we use and the unintended/unexamined messages they convey.

 

[Dizlvr]

Webster's should come up with another dictionary- The Dictionary for Overly Sensitive PC Types and the one for everyone else. They can choose words from theirs, and we can choose words from ours.

 

[CinderElsa]

I hate all of these "alternative" terms for fat. Overweight, fluffy, Pooh-sized, etc, it's all ridiculous. Fat is a neutral descriptor. It doesn't compare people to animals/cartoon characters or imply that they're beyond the allowed weight range for human beings. I don't know why everyone seems to be afraid to use it.

 

[EMom]

I have no problem with illegal alien or illegal immigrant, as opposed to "undocumented." The point is, they are here illegally. That is the key word, really. Silly to ignore it or pretend otherwise. It's not as if the lack of a properly crossed "t" on some document keeps them from being here legally.

 

[Minnesota!]

People are dumb.

Oh, wait...what's another word for dumb that is not offensive?

 

[soccerdad72]

People are dumb.

Oh, wait...what's another word for dumb that is not offensive?

Intellect-deficient?

 

[pryncess527]

There's nothing wrong with thinking a bit about the words we use and the unintended/unexamined messages they convey.

Well said.