steepholm

It's an interesting question as to which leads the way, language change heralding changes in attitude, or vice versa. Both, I guess, at various times and places. The example I gave shows an attitude changing, but the language lagging behind, and I just wondered whether that's likely to happen less in an age when various movements from "political correctness" to advertising have made us hyper-aware of the rhetorical power of terminology. But maybe not. "Disabled" has already been mentioned, but I was thinking about "person of colour" the other day, which as far as I can see is the designation of choice in large parts of the internet, but which I've always instinctively fought shy of because it "normalizes" being white. That bothers me, but I don't remember hearing the objection being made elsewhere, and don't feel it's my place to make myself, other than musing on my own LJ of course. (For all that, I'm sure it has been made.)