Sunday, January 08, 2017

PEAK PC INSANITY: The American Indian Word for Woman Now Deemed "Offensive"

You may remember the term "squaw".

It's the Narragansett (American Indian) word for "woman" dating back to at least the 17th century. Algonquian dialects also employed the word.

But now, your PC betters have deemed the term Offensive.

Papa B alerts us to a game alert he received in the popular social word game Words With Friends:


Using "define:squaw" on Google confirms the offense.


Of course, this poses a problem for the site of the 1960 Winter Olympic Games, which will presumably have to rethink its brand identity.


They better get started soon on all of the resort maps, for starters.


I mean, the "back side of Squaw"?

Outrageous.

I think this marks peak PC insanity.
 

4 comments:

  1. Anonymous8:12 AM

    If that is peak PC lunacy, we reached that in Phoenix teen years ago, when we suddenly had a dust up about the name of Squaw Peak, one of Phoenix's most iconic landmarks. So it was decided by all the craven politicians to rename the peak Piestewa Peak, after PFC Lori Piestewa -- a casualty of the same fiasco that caused Jessica Lynch to be captured.

    And seeing as how the most important freeway in Phoenix runs past Squaw Peak, it was also deemed necessary to rename it, "Piestewa Freeway" And so thru the magic of PC kvetching, half of Phoenix is now named after Lori Piestewa, who lived five hours away from Phoenix in Northeast Arizona. Meanwhile nothing in Phoenix has ever been renamed for the 80 or so kids actually from Phoenix who also died in Iraq or Afghanistan.

    But that's PC for you

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  2. Had this conversation decades ago, when there was some confusion for the derivation of the word.
    The apocryphal story was that male Europeans were looking for sexual partners, and they quickly associated the word 'squaw' with sex.
    A link to further the point.
    https://indiancountrymedianetwork.com/history/events/the-word-squaw-offensive-or-not/

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  3. Buffalo, NY - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unity_Island

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  4. Anonymous5:54 PM

    "Squaw" is supposed to mean the female pudenda, but what it means to me is that when you have a squaw you have shade in the summer and warmth in the winter.
    Missoula had a "Squaw Peak" which also suffered a name change to "Old woman with wood on her back and tears in her eyes Peak".
    Now, Hank also sang about this:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-NuTXsKRWs

    ReplyDelete