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JakobA the unAmerican.

Do language contain racial discrimination ?

I Have fair hair (well sort of dirty blonde before I turned grey), but many people do not.
Does that mean people whose hair is red or black are unfair ?
Or should we call Randy-D fair because he discriminate equally in all directions ?

N-peeps are unfair  
Exept a few

Researching for this question i stumbled on an advertisement about unfair hair (getting an unfair advantage) i found 8 variants of the Advertisement all showing a blond hair-model:

Posted - January 3, 2018
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Responses


  • 1498
    I'm sorry--"n-peeps?"

    But, yes, relatively common words and expressions can be discriminating, if that's what you're asking; another reason why it's important to work on awareness of what we express.
      January 3, 2018 12:52 PM MST
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  • 13071
    Does language. :O
      January 3, 2018 1:28 PM MST
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  • 7939
    O_o I would think "n-peeps" is arguably more offensive than "fair," but I usually research how people who belong to certain groups feel about something before I decide whether it's racist or offensive. I tend to be rather thick-skinned, so most of this stuff flies way over my head unless someone makes a case for it.  

    Your question intrigued me because I use the phrases, "fair-haired," "fair-skinned," and "fairer sex" frequently, and I never once thought anything about what they could possibly mean beyond what I was intending, so I researched it. 

    While "fair" in relation to a color is often used to denote a light hue, it can also be used to denote "favorite" as in the case of "fairer sex." Ergo, a dark-haired person could be called "My fair-haired friend," if the person was my favorite friend. I never hear it used that way, but that arguably infers that light is favored. In which case, yes, it could be racist, or in the case of "fairer sex," sexist. 

    We really have to look at two things here though.
    1) How we speak determines our level of civility and acceptance. It does shape our world. If we speak of one thing as being negative, it becomes so. That's why watching how we talk is important. 
    2) The use of "fair" is archaic in this sense. Nobody these days has really any clue what "fair" references. The use and connotation have changed over the years. Ergo, I don't think it's harmful or damaging. I don't think it fits racism guidelines because it doesn't change how we view race or people of various hues. 

    This has been discussed and was deemed "racist." One school even removed "fair" from its fight song. https://www.nationalreview.com/article/386894/these-12-words-and-phrases-are-apparently-sexist-now-katherine-timpf 

    Equally, I'm not a linguist. I'm interested in psychology and philosophy, mostly. I'm definitely interested in hearing other opinions on this.
      January 3, 2018 2:02 PM MST
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  • 22891
    i would hope not
      January 3, 2018 2:54 PM MST
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