Limp wrists and slant eyes must go as political correctness demands new signs for the deaf Traditional sign language gestures are dropped as 'too offensive' for television

From: The Sunday Telegraph London | Date: March 21, 2004| Author: | Copyright information

POLITICAL correctness has caught up with sign language for deaf people. Gestures used to depict ethnic and religious minorities and homosexuals are being dropped because they are now deemed offensive.

The abandoned signs include "Jewish", in which a hand mimes a hooked nose; the sign for "gay", a flick of a limp wrist; and "Chinese", in which the index fingertips pull the eyes into a slant. Another dropped sign is that for "Indian", which is a finger pointing to an imaginary spot in the middle of a forehead.

The signs have been declared off-limits by the makers of Vee-TV, Channel 4's programme ...

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