Has political correctness actually gone mad?

The article mentions mermen and merpeople. Had no idea this was a thing. Given she can't find anyone from the 'mermaid community', I guess it's pretty niche.

Yes, full grown adults dressed as merpeople, who would have thought they're few and far between! :lol:
She will probably inspire a few others though. People who watch too much disney probably.
 
Isnt that is how Trump voters characterised his win? A victory for the fair minded and genuine (and mainly white) majority who believe political correctness (and the general tyranny of liberal, metropolitan elites) has gone too far.

I guess the issue is you cant counteract something like this with moderation, that is rarely how it works. You have to counteract it with something as extreme in the opposite direction. Moderation tends to get drowned out.

I dunno, I think stuff like this is beyond stupid, as are alot of things that are suddenly offending people nowadays, but I wouldn't counter it with anything extreme the opposite way, I'd just keep my own fair minded, and knowing the difference between right and wrong way of life, and I'd also like to think the vast majority think the same, and will do the same, which will hopefully win through and drown out the current 'trendy' attention seeking minority.

The Trump line maybe makes your second paragraph more relevant, but I know what he is, and he doesn't represent how most normal people think or go about things.
 
I dunno, I think stuff like this is beyond stupid, as are alot of things that are suddenly offending people nowadays, but I wouldn't counter it with anything extreme the opposite way, I'd just keep my own fair minded, and knowing the difference between right and wrong way of life, and I'd also like to think the vast majority think the same, and will do the same, which will hopefully win through and drown out the current 'trendy' attention seeking minority.

The Trump line maybe makes your second paragraph more relevant, but I know what he is, and he doesn't represent how most normal people think or go about things.
What you are saying is certainly rational at the individual level. That is my response too. But it feels like somehow, at a societal, level it works differently. It seems to me Trump is an example of that. Obviously there are many, many more reasons why Trump won in the US, but I have heard his supporters cite PC and liking "a politician who isnt afraid to speak his mind" as a factor. It is not insignificant.

I think it is why you get periods where everyone fights over the centre ground, like we had in the 90s and early 00s, and then you have periods where politics becomes deeply divided and tribal and the two sides find it hard to even talk. Like now. Its hard to remember that not so long ago people felt frustrated that they didnt have any choice, that Labour and Conservative were basically the same. Now you have the right in the ascendancy in the Tory party and people seriously proposing JRM as a potential leader on the one hand, and Corbyn on the other. Every reaction seems to trigger an equally extreme counter reaction.
 
I was listening to a radio show not long ago actually, and on that show a teacher spoke of how he'd been assessed by some sort of inspector during a class. Apparently, he was taken to one side afterwards and brought up about his use of the word 'guys', and told that he shouldn't use a word like that in case it offends people.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5351511/Universities-clamp-transphobia.html

"One institution – City, University of London – has even banned lecturers from using terms such as ‘mate’, ‘guys’, ‘Sir’ or ‘Madam’ because it might upset transgender students."
 
People on twitter getting offended by Cancer Uk's "fat shaming" Obesity causes cancer campaign.
 
Now we're not allowed to slag off our players to let off steam - on a fan forum. It's political correctness gone mad. Get Milo in here, this is the final straw for me.

No white text? I have no problem grouping the ramblings of Milo and these knee-jerk verbal litterbugs together, so if you’re sincere then go right ahead and join causes with that wanker ;)

People on twitter getting offended by Cancer Uk's "fat shaming" Obesity causes cancer campaign.

THIS on the other hand is well-suited for this thread. Wtf?!
 
http://www.newsweek.com/kansas-gops-vote-against-transgender-people-part-worrying-trend-821087

The Kansas Republican Party last week approved a resolution that opposes “all efforts to validate transgender identity,” in what a leading LGBT advocacy group said was part of a "concerning and unacceptable" trend in countrywide anti-trans sentiment.

The resolution stated that the party “recognizes the dignity of every human being, including those who identify as LGBT,” but affirmed “God's design for gender as determined by biological sex and not by self-perception” and opposed “all efforts to validate transgender identity.”

Kentucky, for instance, passed legislation that could allow student groups at public high schools, colleges and universities to discriminate against LGBTQ students.

Remember, SJWs are a major menace to society screaming about nonexistent problems.
 
Had this weird little combo of diversity presentations at work last night. Was very peculiar tbh. My department and industry as a whole is very blue collar and male dominated (fyi)

A lady gave a presentation on mental health discussing her own anxiety which went down really well and another guy told us he was gay and how it was difficult for him to talk about it etc okay fair enough but this other guy was telling us about gender equality and how because our city is 50/50 male and female then so should our company and I just can't get my head around how ridiculous that is. Women just aren't interested in this field, the few who are get fast track treatment too it literally couldn't be any better for them and yet still most aren't interested.

This guy was a total bitch too he kept giving bitchy stares into the crowd if someone talked or made a noise. You could tell he resented everyone there, and it was funny to hear the shit he was saying and knowing what the 100 or so people there were mostly thinking. I find it disturbing that an unskilled idealogical cretin like him can be given employable positions at large companies just to spread his bs and try to socially engineer everything against what is natural.
 
Albert Heijn, Hollands biggest supermarket brand has banned a childrens football themed game because the cover said; "for up to four boys", which was deemed sexist.

Also one of the answers to the question: what don't you ever want to see? A: crying girls, was deemed over the top.

Feck sake.
 
Albert Heijn, Hollands biggest supermarket brand has banned a childrens football themed game because the cover said; "for up to four boys", which was deemed sexist.

Also one of the answers to the question: what don't you ever want to see? A: crying girls, was deemed over the top.

Feck sake.

No need to ban it but it definitely should be changed to "four players" rather than boys, as yes, that is sexist imho.
 
No need to ban it but it definitely should be changed to "four players" rather than boys, as yes, that is sexist imho.
Boys and girls thinking the other sex has cooties until the age of 10 is fine. Why is it a bad thing that boys tend to like football more than girls? Everone's always talking about wanting everyone to be the same and unisex and what not. Boys and girls aren't the same and that's fine. One is not better than the other, but they're definitely not identical. Why is that a bad thing? I want to hold open the door for my wife and I want to pay for dinner on the first date. I give her my coat when it's cold. That's completely sexist as well, but who cares.
 
Boys and girls thinking the other sex has cooties until the age of 10 is fine. Why is it a bad thing that boys tend to like football more than girls? Everone's always talking about wanting everyone to be the same and unisex and what not. Boys and girls aren't the same and that's fine. One is not better than the other, but they're definitely not identical. Why is that a bad thing? I want to hold open the door for my wife and I want to pay for dinner on the first date. I give her my coat when it's cold. That's completely sexist as well, but who cares.

That's not sexist, that's called chivalry.
Boys and girls aren't the same, neither are all boys the same, neither are all girls the same.

It's the moment when you start restricting what others are able to do based on their gender that it becomes a problem, imo.
I have no problem with toys for girls and toys for boys being different - but you shouldn't tell boys that they aren't allowed to play with dolls, and girls aren't allowed to play with hot wheels or whatever, that's sexist.

Everyone isn't wanting everyone to be the same and unisex, people just want others to be able to have the same access to do things that they want to do, that's all.
 
That's not sexist, that's called chivalry.
Boys and girls aren't the same, neither are all boys the same, neither are all girls the same.

It's the moment when you start restricting what others are able to do based on their gender that it becomes a problem, imo.
I have no problem with toys for girls and toys for boys being different - but you shouldn't tell boys that they aren't allowed to play with dolls, and girls aren't allowed to play with hot wheels or whatever, that's sexist.

Everyone isn't wanting everyone to be the same and unisex, people just want others to be able to have the same access to do things that they want to do, that's all.
That's exactly my point. For instance women getting paid less for the same job, or being passed over for jobs altogether because they "aren't a good fit for the company's culture" is ridiculous and something that should be fought against at every turn.

However, some silly game aimed at boys over girls and other games doing this vice versa are harmless. I used to be absolutely sure all girls had cooties, but then I grew up. It's not these games that are at fault, it's shitty parents with shitty values who raise their children to be the same shitty bigoted people they are.

And on the subject of Chivalry, doesn't that kind of originate with the stigma that men are stronger and are supposed to take care of their women, because they need their protection? I agree chivalry is great and should definitely not die, it's just another example of not all differences between sexes being a bad thing.
 
@vi1lain Isnt chivalry a bit sexist? I know a few women who (I think) would find it extremely patronising if a man wanted to pay for their dinner or offered them their coat. Im sure I read an article in The Guardian at some point about benevolent or benign sexism and how its just as bad as any other form of sexism.
 
Boys and girls thinking the other sex has cooties until the age of 10 is fine. Why is it a bad thing that boys tend to like football more than girls? Everone's always talking about wanting everyone to be the same and unisex and what not. Boys and girls aren't the same and that's fine. One is not better than the other, but they're definitely not identical. Why is that a bad thing? I want to hold open the door for my wife and I want to pay for dinner on the first date. I give her my coat when it's cold. That's completely sexist as well, but who cares.

When you have daughters you realise how much society, TV, games, expectations etc tries to model young girls behaviour, discourage them from 'male roles' and encourage 'female roles'

Playing football isn't something young girls should be discouraged from. In America many girls play it because it's seen as 'feminine' as opposed to other sports.

As for this particular case I'd be in favour of a small label stating 'suitable for 4 children' being used instead of throwing all the toys away, which would be a waste
 
When you have daughters you realise how much society, TV, games, expectations etc tries to model young girls behaviour, discourage them from 'male roles' and encourage 'female roles'

Playing football isn't something young girls should be discouraged from. In America many girls play it because it's seen as 'feminine' as opposed to other sports.

As for this particular case I'd be in favour of a small label stating 'suitable for 4 children' being used instead of throwing all the toys away, which would be a waste

I think what these people complaining don't realise is that they should see this from a child's perspective. Up to age ten boys and girls tend to think the other sex is "stupid" and "eeeeeeeeew" and there's nothing wrong with that. Eventually you discover that the other sex is actually very interesting (or not). That's part of growing up. And some people fail to do so and grow up to be sexist bigots. That's not because of a children's game, that's because of their parents. Fact is, there are a lot of ignorant people in the world. And there lies the problem. A label on a game changes absolutely nothing in favour of women. It's just ammo for misogynists to complain about PC going mad.

Also, in Holland playing football is encouraged for all sexes, ages, colours etc etc. Our women's team even won the Euro's :) The time that football is only for boys is long gone here. Though I guess we score quite well in the equal right department.
 
That's exactly my point. For instance women getting paid less for the same job, or being passed over for jobs altogether because they "aren't a good fit for the company's culture" is ridiculous and something that should be fought against at every turn.

However, some silly game aimed at boys over girls and other games doing this vice versa are harmless. I used to be absolutely sure all girls had cooties, but then I grew up. It's not these games that are at fault, it's shitty parents with shitty values who raise their children to be the same shitty bigoted people they are.

And on the subject of Chivalry, doesn't that kind of originate with the stigma that men are stronger and are supposed to take care of their women, because they need their protection? I agree chivalry is great and should definitely not die, it's just another example of not all differences between sexes being a bad thing.

Ultimately my personal view on it is that the outrage towards political correctness fuels a lot of these "stories" being printed.
A supermarket in Holland has had some opposition to one game that they stock, so? There will be some opposition to almost anything an organisation does - but printing it in newspapers/online will fuel a lot more people who are fed up political correctness and are baited into outrage thinking that the whole world is changing.
The 'journalist' will get a lot more attention by dressing this up to rile up the Anti-PC squad, which in turn will mean more revenue for the company.

If people stopped feeding these types of articles then none of us would even be aware of it, because honestly who cares.
I used to play with nerf guns and action man dolls and hot wheels etc and the box would always say specifically that it was for boys - did that stop me? Of course not.

There is a wider discussion to be had around social constructs when it comes to gender stereotypes of course, but this isn't that.

On the topic of Chivalry, for you and @Adebesi - this comes down to personal preference.
Some girls like a guy who will open the door for them, some girls don't care, some will only accept a guy who does all the chivalrous things for them, some will never allow a guy to do chivalrous things for them.
There isn't a blanket rule that can be applied, we are all individual with different preferences and needs and such.

If you are doing things like holding a door open and paying for the bill then I would say you should question why you feel the need to do that, i've been with guys who do it as a form to exert their masculinity on a relationship and establish that they are the alpha - that's where the lines are blurred when it comes to sexism imo, it can become patronising and dehumanising depending on the tone and context its done in.

If you are doing these things because you like the girl, and you want to be a gentleman then that's the best way - but don't let it stop at only doing acts historically attributed to males only - offer to cook occasionally, or clean or something.
If you aren't open to doing things that are historically assigned for females to do as part of your show of chivalry, then I would question your motives for being chivalrous in the first place. If a show of chivalry is an act, deed or service of being a gentleman, then these things fall into that category too, right?

But that's just me, not all women are the same.
 
When you have daughters you realise how much society, TV, games, expectations etc tries to model young girls behaviour, discourage them from 'male roles' and encourage 'female roles'
I dont know whether my experience is representative but for my daughter it was really, really sudden when she started at school. So I think while all the factors you mention are all significant in themselves, peer pressure is the biggest one. My daughter was all about kicking a ball around with me (much more so than her older brother) and playing with trains. She was obsessed with Pixar films like Toy Story and Cars, and refused to wear dresses or skirts - she was happiest in trousers and a Lightning McQueen t shirt. Then she started nursery and almost overnight was all about pink pink pink and Disney princesses.
 
Ultimately my personal view on it is that the outrage towards political correctness fuels a lot of these "stories" being printed.
A supermarket in Holland has had some opposition to one game that they stock, so? There will be some opposition to almost anything an organisation does - but printing it in newspapers/online will fuel a lot more people who are fed up political correctness and are baited into outrage thinking that the whole world is changing.
The 'journalist' will get a lot more attention by dressing this up to rile up the Anti-PC squad, which in turn will mean more revenue for the company.

If people stopped feeding these types of articles then none of us would even be aware of it, because honestly who cares.
I used to play with nerf guns and action man dolls and hot wheels etc and the box would always say specifically that it was for boys - did that stop me? Of course not.

There is a wider discussion to be had around social constructs when it comes to gender stereotypes of course, but this isn't that.

On the topic of Chivalry, for you and @Adebesi - this comes down to personal preference.
Some girls like a guy who will open the door for them, some girls don't care, some will only accept a guy who does all the chivalrous things for them, some will never allow a guy to do chivalrous things for them.
There isn't a blanket rule that can be applied, we are all individual with different preferences and needs and such.

If you are doing things like holding a door open and paying for the bill then I would say you should question why you feel the need to do that, i've been with guys who do it as a form to exert their masculinity on a relationship and establish that they are the alpha - that's where the lines are blurred when it comes to sexism imo, it can become patronising and dehumanising depending on the tone and context its done in.

If you are doing these things because you like the girl, and you want to be a gentleman then that's the best way - but don't let it stop at only doing acts historically attributed to males only - offer to cook occasionally, or clean or something.
If you aren't open to doing things that are historically assigned for females to do as part of your show of chivalry, then I would question your motives for being chivalrous in the first place. If a show of chivalry is an act, deed or service of being a gentleman, then these things fall into that category too, right?

But that's just me, not all women are the same.

I personally do it, because I like to take care of her. Not because she really needs it, but just to show her my affection I suppose. Never really though about it that way to be honest . And yes I also cook, and fold laundry. With varying degrees of success, mind you.

You make a very valid point about journalists specifically digging this stuff up just to rile people up, because as I also mentioned in a different post, these type of stories are just ammo for the anti PC-crowd.

Anywho, great post, I agree with all parts.