I went to Hampshire College in 1990/1991. 25 years ago. The
birthplace of politically correct in its academic form was from
1988 and Smith College, an all girls college in the same town
(Amherst MA) who distributed these little pamphlets to us and
then nationwide.
Already its impact was felt in less than two years. I found this
from June 1990, three months before I joined and I remember
reading this back when I was 18 in 1990, in a piece written
about what was _then_ current:
"Clothes, intellectual positions and even behavior are governed
by the code of the "politically correct," which is to say
antisexist, antiracist, antihomophobic, antispecist. One of the
unforeseen aspects of Hampshire turned out to be how sexually
uptight the place was, even in the anything-goes atmosphere of
the early 70's. And some of those inhibitions endure as students
sacrifice spontaneity to project correct behavior. No one would
undo Hampshire's committment to feminist values, which has
produced on-site day-care facilities and positions of power for
women, but all that right thinking can sometimes have
puritanical overtones..."
So I know political correct well, as well as its hypocrisy and
dangers. I believe in the underlying sentiment, which is "be
nice to your neighbor", and "not just sticks and stones but
words hurt too" and all that.
PC started off in the US military in the 1980s, as their code of
conduct in dealing with foreign nations. But like the telephone
game, it got bastardized and the message shifted and changed and
morphed over the last 25+ yrs.
The form you know was developed through the lens of white, very
rich, upper class girls going to a girls' school in 1988, who
got a hold of the military standards and decided it would be
good for all rich whites to follow.
I'm not a rich white (I couldn't afford to stay at Hampshire)
but I learned a LOT about how the thinking is a little
different.
and I've watched over the last 25 years as the influence of this
little pamphlet has changed things. Some things for the good but
some for the worse. Some for the much worse.
