The Negative Effects That Poli Essay, Research Paper

The negative effects that political correctness has brought upon the equal rights movement.

In this day and age it has become increasingly difficult to escape the clutch of political correctness. One can find this silent antagonist in the media, the classroom, and even our own backyards. People who at one point were in a position of power now find it quickly slipping away at the mercy of this double-edged sword. Take for example: the middle aged white male, who at one point viewed his age/sex/race as an asset, now finds himself getting attacked on account of these very aspects; or women who have successfully furthered equal rights, yet they still expect to be treated exceptionally. When do we draw the line, and stand up for ourselves even at the risk at stepping on someone s toes? Eventually our society will loose all respect for anything less then a full time career, at the high price, and possible destruction of the family unit. The purpose of political correctness essentially helps diminish all types of discrimination and cuts down on the tensions that keep people divided; however, out of this forced tolerance has emerged a backlash.

The media, business world, and society at large in it s futile attempts to promote equality often fuels the battle between the sexes. Perhaps this occurs due more out of fear of offending someone then anything else. In some cases this may even turn into reverse discrimination; for example, take the bus advertisement that one can see displayed on many if not all Toronto transit vehicles. This safety notice outlines one of the TTC s programs where women, after 9:00 pm can request that the driver stop between bus stops so she can be let out. Now I am not disagreeing that this vital service helps increase the feeling of security for those women who are traveling late at night. However upon seeing this ad, am I supposed to understand that men, cannot be in danger; men never find themselves in the role of the victim? Some people may believe that this ad discriminates against women, implying their weaknesses and vulnerabilities; on the other hand, I

believe that this issue deals much more so with sexism directed towards men. This raises an interesting question, why do the feminists who tirelessly work for equality find this of no concern to them? Perhaps because this issue does not effect the female population in an overtly negative way, they do not feel the need to act. After all why kick the gift horse in the mouth!

Encompassed in the unforgiving grip of hypocrisy can be found men as well as women. The talk of equal rights among women is warranted due to the many battles won. An example of this advancement in women s rights would be the fact that we now have women on the police force, in the army, as fire fighters, doctors, businesswomen, and countless other positions that at one point were absolutely unfathomable! Yet women still want to be treated like women. There is an insurmountable amount of evidence to support this fact. The T.V, Magazines, and our friends continually give us conflicting messages that go entirely against the equal rights movement. Men get told that although women want to be treated equally, they still on some level expect the man to: pay for the dinner; open doors for the lady; pull out the chair; and all the niceties of what has become a dying age of chivalry. Women expect to be treated as women, not just another one of the boys. I find it extremely difficult for this to ever work, a woman can not expect to have all the luxuries of being a woman, and get the benefits of being in a mans position as well, it seems selfish.

Now I agree that women should not be limited to keeping the household in order and rearing the children, rather as everyone knows women can be capable of much more. Women should be allowed to do what ever they want whether it be, staying at home to take care of the kids, or going out to peruse a career. But in doing this I think women should not be pushing so hard for the latter of these two. One of the big problems with trying to treat everyone equally , is facing the fact that no two people are identical. Not to say any one person has less or more value than another, but everyone has different assets, and when trying to treat everyone equally, we loose sight of these differences, which

fundamentally make up who we are. So in pushing women to go out and obtain a career we fail to acknowledge what women do best, and that is take care of the household and

the children. However in today s day and age, we view this as a lower level of living, we look down upon a woman who chooses to stay home and raise her children when in fact every other job pales in comparison. We have lost the respect and value of the woman s traditional position in life. We have lost all understanding of the effort that actually goes into effectively raising a child. We have lost in a sense the entire foundation of our society. After all, what other job could one have that effects someone so profoundly, other then to assure that ones children have been raised in a safe, nurturing, and morally sound environment?

Political correctness was originally intended to be a method for people to eliminate much of the hostility that often arises when people dwell on each other s differences; none the less, this has forced people to abandon their identities resulting in the drastic increase of the social rift between various groups of people. Women must stop trying to measure themselves against the scale that men have set for them, and begin regaining the pride and confidence with regards to exerting their femininity, which has recently been lost. Our differences bring us together and when we celebrate them, we find ourselves becoming most successful.