Ethical Considerations in Naming
Ethical Considerations in Naming
Names hold significant power. They are more than just identifiers; they carry cultural, social, and personal meanings. The act of naming people, places, or things carries ethical implications such as cultural appropriation, respect, and the consequences of labeling.
Examples:
- Imagine a non-Chinese individual choosing a Chinese-sounding name
- A teacher taking the time to learn and correctly pronounce each student's name.
- Media outlets using specific labels to describe a protest can influence public opinion. If a peaceful demonstration is labeled as a "riot" rather than a "protest," it can shape how the public perceives the event.
How do you see these ethical issues and can you think of any other? (Other than naming your kid adolf hitler)
What are your thoughts on changing names for cultural assimilation? I’m pretty sure the Vietnamese women in the nail salon near me aren’t given “Sue” and “Jenny” at birth.
I'm South Asian, I've gone under the name Friedrich at times
I personally don't feel my first name is that special (Martín), but i absolutely LOVE my last name (Contreras), which means "Contrary" AKA "The One Who Opposes". ✊🔥
The name Martin comes from the Roman God of War Mars, so your name basically means "The warrior of Opposition" and that is fuckin badass
Saint Martin of Tours, a Roman soldier who later became a Christian bishop and is considered a patron saint of France, basically made Martin such a famous name in Europe!
Names of medical conditions can stigmatise unrelated people. Such as 'Spanish flu', or the old term for Down's syndrome 'Mongolism'.
Or they can misrepresent the nature of the condition, such as 'elective mutism' giving the impression that its sufferers are choosing to be mute (later changed to 'selective mutism' which has the exact same problem)
On yea that's good