Monday, July 13, 2009
What is in a title...and why Charlize Theron is African American
No one is called a secretary anymore, but "administrative assistants". Forget about working at a car wash, you are now a "car detailer". You don't work at Starbucks as a person who makes coffee, you are a "barista". When you are on a plane, don't ask for the stewardess, ask for the "flight attendant".
What exactly is achieved by changing names for job descriptions? Are you really more important because you sound more important? Is anyone fooled by switching vocabulary words? I know what a secretary did, and what an administrative assistant does, and I know they do the SAME THING. Was this thought up by the same people who change the time on their clock to read 10-15 min ahead so they can fool themselves into being on time?
I really want to ask actress Charlize Theron, who was born in Africa and now lives here in the United States if she calls herself an African-American. Isn't she more African American than someone who was not born in Africa? Can' all of us call ourselves a *something* American? We all have ancestors from somewhere OTHER THAN America, don't we?
Shouldn't we all be called AMERICANS once we become American citizens? What would we call a black actor let's say from Britain. An African-Brit? What if he lives and was born in Germany? An African German? Is anyone else on other continents doing this? How does this work?If you were a black person (I don't know what other term to use here, am I making my point) who was born in London and you came here as a professional dancer and an American journalist was interviewing you, could they refer to you as black? And why is ok to refer to some blacks as blacks and others African American? How the hell do we know what term to use so that we don't offend anyone in our own confusion for God's sake. Where are the rules on this and why does it keep changing. And WHO makes the rules for the titles.
What exactly is achieved by changing names for job descriptions? Are you really more important because you sound more important? Is anyone fooled by switching vocabulary words? I know what a secretary did, and what an administrative assistant does, and I know they do the SAME THING. Was this thought up by the same people who change the time on their clock to read 10-15 min ahead so they can fool themselves into being on time?
I really want to ask actress Charlize Theron, who was born in Africa and now lives here in the United States if she calls herself an African-American. Isn't she more African American than someone who was not born in Africa? Can' all of us call ourselves a *something* American? We all have ancestors from somewhere OTHER THAN America, don't we?
Shouldn't we all be called AMERICANS once we become American citizens? What would we call a black actor let's say from Britain. An African-Brit? What if he lives and was born in Germany? An African German? Is anyone else on other continents doing this? How does this work?If you were a black person (I don't know what other term to use here, am I making my point) who was born in London and you came here as a professional dancer and an American journalist was interviewing you, could they refer to you as black? And why is ok to refer to some blacks as blacks and others African American? How the hell do we know what term to use so that we don't offend anyone in our own confusion for God's sake. Where are the rules on this and why does it keep changing. And WHO makes the rules for the titles.
Labels: African American, job description, job titles, what is in a title, why are we called what we are called
# posted by Just Say Goo : 9:53 PM
Comments:
<< Home
I agree 100%!!! So glad someone finally put this out there!
Post a Comment
# posted by 
: August 12, 2009 at 9:55 PM
: August 12, 2009 at 9:55 PMSubscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]
