Help Please! To PC or not to PC

[Kingstonian]

I am currently working on a WIP set in the nineteen seventies, and centred around prejudice and chauvinism. My question is do I use the language of the day, clearly avoiding any hardcore offensive language, or do I adjust to later day terminology?

 

[Sedayne]

It's a tricky one. And it likely depends on where you and your characters are coming from. You don't want it to sound sanitised or inauthentic, but you don't want to offend the reader either.

I would resist imposing modern language on historical fiction, unless it's from the perspective of someone looking back over decades. I think perspective and point of view are crucial to get it right.

If you want to test how your use of language lands, you can always use the Lab.

The term PC bothers me. It's rather loaded. It's not about being politically correct, but about respecting every human being.

I've written fiction set in the 70s. My main characters encounter sexism and homophobia. Because it's from their point of view, it won't come across as offensive. But if it was from the perpetrators' POV, it probably would do.
I've used offensive slurs in dialogue but not in narrative, and always seen through the lens of the main characters who are not sexist or homophobic.
I think it makes it easier because I'm a queer woman, so it's my voice.

If you aren't female, it might be more difficult to handle sensitively, but that's not to say that male writers can't or don't address sexism well in fiction. (read John Irving or Ian McEwan for great examples.)

 

[Jake E]

I think, it needs to be authentic to the time.
You could always put a disclaimer in the front:
The views expressed in this book are of the time it is set and are not held or promoted by the author.

 

[JoanUP]

IMO as long as it's within dialog, it wouldn't matter?

I got called out for the offense of having someone in 1905 sitting on the floor "Indian style" and for the description of a "mulatto".
Rather than fret about the logic of what makes something offensive, I deleted those and moved on.

 

[Kingstonian]

Thanks everyone. much appreciated. I will stay with the seventies language, and, as Sedayne suggested, give the Lab a try.

 

[Vagabond Heart]

Just a thought, but did you see Life on Mars? That was set in the 70's, and was interesting for the amount of smoking and all the sexism.
But I can't remember a lot of overt racism or chauvinism being at the forefront, and i don't think they swore much. But it still felt very authentic. Might be worth a look to see where they were careful, and what they considered acceptable in terms of creating that authenticity.

 

[Sedayne]

Just a thought, but did you see Life on Mars? That was set in the 70's, and was interesting for the amount of smoking and all the sexism.
But I can't remember a lot of overt racism or chauvinism being at the forefront, and i don't think they swore much. But it still felt very authentic. Might be worth a look to see where they were careful, and what they considered acceptable in terms of creating that authenticity.

Great idea. I re-watched Life on Mars and the follow up Ashes to Ashes a couple of years ago, partly for research, partly for nostalgia. Ashes to Ashes is particularly telling with respect to sexism because it's about a female detective. I loved both these shows, but I have to admit, watching them more recently, there were parts that made me wince - language and behaviour I don't think would get through now. So proceed with caution. And not much that would pass the Bechdel Test.

 

[Hannah Faoileán]

You say it's centred around prejudice and chauvinism, but what is your throughline? Is it about an individual breaking through the prejudicial and chauvinist barriers? Or about a man who defies the zeitgeist and makes a difference? These are important things to consider. If your main character is working against the status quo, they will also be making efforts against the offensive language/attitudes of the time. If that shows in your manuscript, you will be giving a justification of your use of language as well as labelling it inappropriate/derogatory etc.
Read other books based around that timeframe and theme and see what they do. You might find what they do makes moral sense of their use of language. Or you might find their wording offensive to you, which will help steer you in your own writing.