Politically Correct Term for "Bald"

azncollege · 2019-12-15T23:14:30+00:00

Some of the MSCs state in the guidelines to not describe the employee as "bald." What are you supposed to write instead of "bald?" No hair on head? Smooth head? Some hair on the side of their head?

Politically Correct Term for "Bald"

December 20, 2019 02:35AM

I met a young man not long ago who has alopecia. He had zero hair on his head, no eyebrows or eyelashes, etc., and it was in a group setting where somehow some of the girls were talking about hair. One girl said something that I could tell made him uncomfortable. I can't remember exactly what it was.

This is just a reminder that there are so many ways we can look around us and learn how to be more in touch with others' feelings.

@SteveSoCal wrote:

You can tell when someone has shaved their head. I don't think anyone in any state of baldness has a completely smooth head (unless they have alopecia, which is a whole other medical condition you don't want to take a guess at). I get 5 o'clock shadow on my head by end of the day, and have to shave a second time if I'm going out for the evening.

I'm perfectly content to accept the changes that occur over time with aging, but I can assure you there is a point when one starts balding and almost all men will be sensitive about it at some point, so it's like greying, or wrinkles, or anything else that's best not to mention. You just never know how some feel about it...

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December 21, 2019 02:55AM

@SteveSoCal wrote:

Would you describe someone wearing glasses as 'has bad vision'? No...you just say 'wore glasses' because for all you know, the glasses may just be cosmetic.

Exactly -- in that case, the glasses may be cosmetic so you don't actually know the person has bad vision. If a person is bald -- having no hair -- you know he's bald.

We can't know every word that someone is going to get offended over. If a person is fat, skinny, has blue hair, purple veins, tall, short, has a lazy eye, walks pronated, etc, those are descriptions. Saying they're anorexic, old as dirt, shorty, ugly, etc are judgments. BIG difference. "Bald" falls in the first category.

If an MSC doesn't want me to use bald (or any other term), that's the parameters they've placed on the job.

"Let me offer you my definition of social justice: I keep what I earn and you keep what you earn. Do you disagree? Well then tell me how much of what I earn belongs to you - and why?” ~Walter Williams

January 11, 2020 10:15PM

OP, your thread and responses are cracking me up and I truly thank you for posting.

My mother was set up on a blind date with my dad. The person, who did the matchmaking asked her specifically if she would go on a date with a guy who was bald. Her response was if he's a decent guy, why not?

My Dad has been completely bald since he was 16. He's now 98 1/2.

When I was little, he'd call the house and mess with me just for fun. I'd call my Mom to the phone, by screaming..."Mom, Baldy's on the phone!". When my brother and I were kids, we volunteered him for Santa duty with the caveat...he'll need hair and a beard; no pillows needed for the belly.

I will admit he didn't appreciate being called Grampa Baldy,when I was raising other peoples children, until about 16 years ago. That was when I pointed out to him that being bald had become a male fashion haircut. Sadly, his granddaughter was never been allowed to use the phrase. This bother's him every once in awhile, now that he knows bald guys are considered HOT by women.

How you report bald, without stating bald, is beyond me as well.

Thank you for the post.

MaryAnn

Live your life in such a way that when your feet hit the floor in the morning; the devil shudders...And yells OH #%*+! SHE'S AWAKE!

January 11, 2020 11:02PM

Brilliantly polished and blindingly reflecting the store's florescent lights....

Hard work builds character and homework is good for your soul.

January 11, 2020 11:12PM

Oh my, that guy's shiny and bare pate is giving me a headache, per MFJ's description. Brilliantly polished and blinding? I need sunglasses and Ibuprofen.

January 12, 2020 12:53AM

Shiny American.

January 12, 2020 05:47AM

You're welcome. I never expected this thread to get so heated and interesting lol.

@MA Smith wrote:

OP, your thread and responses are cracking me up and I truly thank you for posting.

My mother was set up on a blind date with my dad. The person, who did the matchmaking asked her specifically if she would go on a date with a guy who was bald. Her response was if he's a decent guy, why not?

My Dad has been completely bald since he was 16. He's now 98 1/2.

When I was little, he'd call the house and mess with me just for fun. I'd call my Mom to the phone, by screaming..."Mom, Baldy's on the phone!". When my brother and I were kids, we volunteered him for Santa duty with the caveat...he'll need hair and a beard; no pillows needed for the belly.

I will admit he didn't appreciate being called Grampa Baldy,when I was raising other peoples children, until about 16 years ago. That was when I pointed out to him that being bald had become a male fashion haircut. Sadly, his granddaughter was never been allowed to use the phrase. This bother's him every once in awhile, now that he knows bald guys are considered HOT by women.

How you report bald, without stating bald, is beyond me as well.

Thank you for the post.

MaryAnn

January 14, 2020 07:54PM

I just write "no hair" or pick "other." I cannot always tell if the man's head is shaved or naturally bald.

January 15, 2020 07:32PM

I was in a restaurant the other day and the manager was going over some new rules from the home office and they are no longer allowed to call a cracker a cracker it is a saltine. So I guess now you have to ask for unsalted saltines. This PC crap has gone far enough. I guess some white guy got upset

January 15, 2020 09:03PM

I try to fit in at least one of these every day ;-) Politically incorrect terms: [bestlifeonline.com]
ANY word can be offensive to somebody out there, depending upon how it's said. It gets sickening. I say put on your big boy pants and grow up. There's a reason we have freedom of speech. They're words.

Those who disagree, well bless your heart.

January 15, 2020 09:16PM

Is Saltine because that is a specific type of cracker? I am not connecting this requirement to PC

When a flower doesn’t bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower.
Alexander Den Heijer

January 15, 2020 11:28PM

Saltine is not a brand name. I have seen square wheat crackers, unsalted square crackers, and [I think?] gluten-free square crackers.

My garden in England is full of eating-out places, for heat waves, warm September evenings, or lunch on a chilly Christmas morning. (Mary Quant)

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/16/2020 11:47PM by Shop-et-al.

January 16, 2020 04:25AM

perhaps the work 'cracker' was offensive to some one at corporate?

January 16, 2020 11:08PM

It means white trash (like my neighbor). [www.urbandictionary.com]

January 16, 2020 11:36PM

No. Saltine is not a brand name (at least in the US). It's the description of particular type of cracker (aka soda cracker) but it is not a proper noun and while some brands might use saltine as part of their product name, it is not proprietary.

From Miriam Webster:
saltine: noun
sal·tine | \ sȯl-ˈtēn \
Definition of saltine: a thin crisp cracker usually sprinkled with salt

@Shop-et-al wrote:

Saltine is a brand name. I have seen square wheat crackers, unsalted square crackers, and [I think?] gluten-free square crackers.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/16/2020 11:36PM by JASFLALMT.

January 16, 2020 11:47PM

Thanks. I added the missing word.

My garden in England is full of eating-out places, for heat waves, warm September evenings, or lunch on a chilly Christmas morning. (Mary Quant)

January 16, 2020 11:53PM

When I lived in Florida, I had a neighbor who fit this description. She had been in the tanning bed waaaay too much and was quite crispy. And she had a mouth on her when she drank too much. Man, but she was salty.

Definition of saltine: a thin crisp cracker

January 17, 2020 12:00AM

Who remembers Robbie Coltrane in Cracker? Dr Edward "Fitz" Fitzgerald is a criminal psychologist. He is rather anti-social and obnoxious but he has a gift for solving crimes. Thus he is employed as a consultant by the Manchester Police.

[www.imdb.com]

My garden in England is full of eating-out places, for heat waves, warm September evenings, or lunch on a chilly Christmas morning. (Mary Quant)

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/17/2020 12:01AM by Shop-et-al.

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Politically Correct Term for "Bald"

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