Last week's episode of Scandal introduced the term “dog-whistle politics” into the lexicon and it couldn't have happened at a more appropriate time. The phrase refers to the use of coded language that means one, usually harmless, thing to the general population but means a different, usually malicious, thing to a target subgroup.
Politicians and people in media typically employ dog-whistle politics in their statements to avoid offending their constituents and audiences. And they're not the only ones. Most of us average Joes and Janes sugarcoat the things we say because we know that if the world finds out what's truly in our minds, we'd be ostracized.
We're afraid of offending religious groups, minority groups, other races, other genders, other cultures, conservatives, prudes, old people, young people, sensitive people, insensitive people – everyone. Because right now, everyone seems to be so easily offended.
Suddenly, there are online articles on what we should never say to introverts because apparently, we have to tiptoe around them. Not to be outdone, extroverts have their own list of statements to avoid in their presence. If someone points out the obesity problem in America, they're fat-shaming. If someone calls out the fashion industry for preferring skinny models, they're thin-shaming. Whatever happened to free speech? It's still there but if you don't want Nicki Minaj asking you “What's good?”, maybe it's best to not be so honest.
If a guy says on his Tinder profile that he prefers blondes with big boobs, he's a misogynist. And he's definitely racist if he says he doesn't like [insert any race here]. Because in 2015, we are not allowed to not like any race. We're supposed to love everyone, but not too much that we adapt their cultures into our lifestyles and appearances. Because that would be cultural appropriation. No, we absolutely cannot have that.
In September, Taylor Swift faced backlash for releasing an allegedly “racist” music video for her single, “Wildest Dreams.” USA Today explains, “The video depicts Swift as an early-20th-century movie star who falls in love with her married co-star, played by Scott Eastwood, while filming a movie in Africa. It contains sweeping shots of the African landscape, plenty of African animals, and what appears to be no African people. Some say this is inappropriate in 2015.”
Why? Because it supposedly romanticizes white colonialism. What the actual fudge? Can't it just be a period piece about a Hollywood movie star who's filming a Hollywood movie in Africa? Must there always be a racially charged undertone to everything?
Katy Perry received similar criticisms last year. She's been called out for cultural appropriation and “[attempting] to commodify black female sexuality.” Www.jezebel.com opines that “she's set up a bit of a pattern of ripping off other people's culture in order to profit and sell more records.” But what the hell is so wrong with that?
It seems to me that people are consciously seeking out things to be offended by. Case in point: A Buzzfeed video shows that young Asians take offense at vintage Hollywood films for using yellowface in depicting Asian characters because, you know – sarcasm alert! – yellowface is such an important issue the world is facing today.
Another example is that giant mess that came out of a local apparel company's billboard featuring a real-life gay couple holding hands. The hands appeared to be painted over, which turned out to be self-censorship on the part of the brand. Without knowing what exactly happened, some people just went on and on about how it's wrong and oppressive and homophobic. And who did they blame? The Ad Standards Council, which didn't have anything to do with the brand's self-censorship.
Think about if the hands were visible. Surely, a different group of people will be offended. Either way, someone's bound to react negatively. And because there's no such thing as bad PR, either way, there will be conversations and the brand wins.
This is actually something that marketers know too well, which is why they're always on the lookout for a new way to offend us and let us know what offends (or should offend) us.
In the Cracked.com post “5 Ways Our Generation Has Ruined 'Being Offended',” this is revealed, “Being offended is clickbait now. It's good marketing. It sells. So of course people are going to try and manufacture it, because that's what capitalism is. Clickbait sites are going to give every offensive thought any random person has as much exposure as possible for the same reason filmmakers keep cramming love triangles into movies and comedians keep telling edgy, offensive jokes: because we all want attention, and we all want to feel important.”
And we all always fall for it. Guess the joke's on us.
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