Double standard

For the monetary usage, see Bimetallism.

A double standard is the application of different sets of principles for similar situations. A double standard may take the form of an instance in which certain concepts (often, for example, a word, phrase, social norm, or rule) are perceived as acceptable to be applied by one group of people, but are considered unacceptable—taboo—when applied by another group.

History and definition of the concept

The concept of a double standard has long been applied (as early as 1872) to the fact that different moral structures are often applied to men and women in society. An example being that a man going out to bars and picking up a different woman to have sex with every night for two weeks, will probably be considered "macho", a "stud", or a "ladies' man". All positive terms, but a woman who went home with 14 different men in a two-week period in the same way as the male example, typically would be labeled a "slut" or a "whore", both being pejorative. Conversely, if a man cries, he is commonly seen as "weak" or "pathetic", denoting a negative connotation; but if a woman cries, she is commonly seen as "innocent" and "sensitive", denoting a compassionate connotation.

A double standard can therefore be described as a biased or morally unfair application of the principle that all are equal in their freedoms. Such double standards are seen as unjustified because they violate a basic maxim of modern legal jurisprudence: that all parties should stand equal before the law. Double standards also violate the principle of justice known as impartiality, which is based on the assumption that the same standards should be applied to all people, without regard to subjective bias or favoritism based on social class, rank, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation, age, or other distinctions. A double standard violates this principle by holding different people accountable according to different standards.

Politically correct examples of double standards

Black Pride (that this is good), Gay Pride (that this is good), Asian Pride (that this is good), and White Pride (that this is bad), as explained by Wikipedia.

• Politically correct sources that use labels such as homophobia, transphobia, Islamophobia, xenophobia, and similar "-phobia" words apply a double standard and do not use "-phobia" words as labels for criticisms of white people (Europhobia), heterosexuals (Heterophobia), Christians (Christophobia), and so on.
• Various double standards regarding the usage of labels such as hate group, hate speech, and hate site.
• Pro-white organizations are more or less automatically accused of racism and white supremacy, and they have little influence. In contrast, accusations of racism and supremacism are less common against other groups, such as pro-black or Zionist organizations, which openly and influentially lobby for the self-interests of their own group.
• Whiteness studies is anti-white, while other studies support the group that is being studied (ie, black studies is not named "Blackness studies").
• The applications of hate speech laws usually have a double standard regarding application to white people compared to people of color, heterosexuals compared to non-heterosexuals, and so on, where the minority groups are usually treated more leniently than the majority group.
• Some Zionists have been argued to apply a double standard regarding Israel and other countries, such as regarding immigration.
• Affirmative action is, in practice, many different kinds of double standards, such as by applying harsher admission criteria for higher education for white people or East Asians than for most other groups.
• The Bantu expansion is one example of frequent double standards regarding topics such as expansionism and colonialism. Generally, only European colonialism is mentioned.
• Politically correct stereotypes, with blackface makeup and minstrel shows considered very politically incorrect, offensive, outdated, and racist, while stereotypes that depict white people negatively, such as redneck, white trash, and white power skinhead stereotypes considered politically correct.
• Double standards regarding racial slurs, with anti-white racial slurs, such as white trash, Eurotrash and Karen, considered to be very politically correct, while racial slurs against non-whites, such as Nigger, Paki, and Pikey, are today considered to be extremely racist and politically unacceptable.
• Between Western and non-Western countries regarding open border policies.
• Criticisms of religion, with criticism of Christianity considered to be politically correct, criticism of Islam less so (often labelled as Islamophobia), and criticism of Judaism even less so than Islam (often labelled as religious antisemitism).
• Blackwashing in film is considered very politically correct, while whitewashing in film is considered racist.
• African-American rapper Kanye West was heavily criticized for wearing a "White Lives Matter" shirt, but white people who support Black Lives Matter are rarely, if ever, condemned in comparison.
• Wikipedia promotes various double standards, such as the generally negative way in which it describes conservative and pro-white groups, individuals, slogans, ideologies, and websites perceived to be right-wing or far-right, as opposed to the usually more positive way in which it describes opposing viewpoints. Its articles on Conservapedia and RationalWiki are a notable example.

Policy of double standards

Policy of double standards is used to describe a situation when the assessment of the same phenomenon, process or event in the international relations, depends on character of the relations of the estimating parties with assessment objects. At identical intrinsic filling of action of one country get support and a justification, and other – is condemned and punished.

The phrase became a classical example of policy of double standards: "One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter", entered into use by the British writer Gerald Seymour in his work "Harry's Game" in 1975.

See also

• Auto-antonym
• Contradiction
• Discrimination
• Double bind
• Doublethink
• Golden rule/ethic of reciprocity
• Hypocrisy
• Irony
• Morality
• Oxymoron
• Paradox
• Petty treason
• Quod licet Iovi, non licet bovi
• Reciprocity (social and political philosophy)
• Untranslatability