I haven’t written much in the past 5 days because I’ve been a little depressed. Ok, I’ve been a LOT depressed. What happened is that I have a book coming out, something for which I should leap for joy, but am not. The reason I am not is that I am catching all sorts of hell from newsgroup people over its title:
Mexican Living: Blogging it from a Third World Country.
I wonder if you find anything offensive about that title. If you don’t just listen to thismany are freaking out over it and I cannot change the book title because it has already gone to press.
Why, you ask, are people having a stroke over this book title? Let me give some background.
First, I had no intention whatsoever of picking a title that would get everyone who read it all worked into a lather. I picked the phrase, “Third World Country” since this phrase is, in the minds of many of my target audienceAmericansthe vernacular for developing countries in Latin and South America. Most Americans would not know that Mexico is technically in “North America” but they, average Americans, would identify it being in Latin America.
Second, I picked the title as sarcasm. If you get to read the book, and please, oh please do, you will find that I paint a picture of Mexico that is anything but one of an underdeveloped country. In fact, the book attacks repeatedly American-born stereotypes of Mexico and her citizens. It is a “myth busting” book about what it is like to live in Mexico.
I was trying, albeit poorly, to pick a title that would attract a large percentage of Americans, only to surprise them with the theme of the rhetoric.
Here is what I was told by a reader and what I have been more or less told by the other critics:
“What doesn’t convince me at all is precisely the title chosen for the author himself. As taken from the Wikipedia.net: “…The term “third world” was coined by economist Alfred Sauvy in an article in the French magazine L’Observateur of August 14, 1952. It was a deliberate reference to the “Third Estate” of the French Revolution. Tiers monde means third world in French. The term gained widespread popularity during the Cold War when many poorer nations adopted the category to describe themselves as neither being aligned with NATO or the Warsaw Pact, but instead composing a non-aligned “third world” (in this context, the term “First World” was generally understood to mean the United States and its allies in the Cold War, which would have made the East bloc the “Second World” by default; however, the latter term was very seldom actually used)….”
As you can see, we are not in the 50’s, we aren’t in the 80’s, Cold War is over and the world is in need of actions (both from the Governments and the People) to help broaden the understanding between nations and reduce the gap of their most critical differences and stereotypes.
To me, the term Third World is romantic, anachronic, and offensive to a certain point. If I were to name a book in which I intended to highlight and remark the good things I experience everyday from “X” place, I’d rather carefully choose one adjective to be performing in congruence. In other words, I’d choose a title which most people would call “politically correct”.
The point here is well taken. However, understand that this phrase, “third world country”, is not, in the minds of most American peoplethe target audience of the booka pejorative.
A good illustration of this is the use of “Negrito” or “Gordito”. Mexican parents might use these to refer to their darker-skinned or overweight child. These would cause a grave offense in the context of America culture. I can just see the ACLU and Children Service organizations taking American parents who did this to their children to court. The American press would be screaming from the highest rooftops, “Child Abuse”!
I am not kidding nor am I making this up! It would happen!
However, the use of “Negrito” or “Gordito” in the vernacular of the Mexican cultural context is outstandingly appropriate.
The critics of my book’s title made their “Ultimate Appeal” to the apologetic of “Political Correctness”that the book title isn’t “Politically Correct”.
For the sake of brevity, I will refer you to this web site so you can see what I think of “Political Correctness”:
Doug Bower is a freelance writer and book author. His most recent writing credits include The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Houston Chronicle, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and Transitions Abroad. He is a columnist with Cricketsoda.com and the Magic City Morning Star. He is also listed with Ezinearticles.com. He lives with his wife in Guanajuato, Mexico. His newest book Mexican Living: Blogging it from a Third World Country can now be seen at
