History PlayingWith / PoliticallyCorrectHistory

* '''Straight''': A story that takes place in the DeepSouth ''just'' after UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar depicts Alice, a Black woman, running a very successful business. None of the other characters blink.

** Alice has to deal with racism that was appropriate for the time period, but doesn't deal with the type of sexism that was normal in that era.

** Alice is a Black woman who's dating or married to a White man in a time and place where such interracial relationships would be illegal. Anti-miscegenation sentiments and statutes are only vaguely acknowledged when the couple receives shocked glares and stares from strangers, but nobody actually says anything.

** Alice's Blackness is later revealed to have been based upon a historical misinterpretation. When accounts described her as dark-skinned and from Africa, they meant she was well-tanned and from Boer farmers who immigrated. She was still White and considered as such.
** [[UnreliableNarrator this is just a fake version of history being told to the in-universe audience.]] The real version of the history is actually not... politically correct.

** They married for love, and it's shown that Bob clearly cares about her and respects her as a human being. None of their neighbors make any negative comments about their interracial marriage (which is also a real, legally-binding marriage at a time when it wouldn't be), and anyone that does is shown to be a less-than-sympathetic character.

* '''Exploited''': Alice uses her place in society to advance civil rights.

* '''Discussed''': Bob is a {{Time Travel}}ler from the future who has just met Alice, and they have this exchange:

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** Showing a character in the past with the attitudes they actually would have had carries a high risk of making them UnintentionallyUnsympathetic. [[ValuesDissonance Even if it's period-accurate]], there's some things that a modern audience [[MoralEventHorizon cannot forgive]].

** Showing a historical character with the attitudes they actually had carries a high risk of making them UnintentionallyUnsympathetic. [[ValuesDissonance Even if it's period-accurate]], there's some things that a modern audience [[MoralEventHorizon cannot forgive]].

** The story takes place in a WretchedHive setting. One of its very few upsides is that nobody cares who or what anyone is. Deserters, pirates, murderers, thieves, and traitors prowl the city and everyone knows it. Given the amount of 'bad people' walking around, nobody is likely to care about lesser issues like some excommunicated clergy marrying two men, even if it would incite a riot in more 'respectable' cities. Besides, [[BullyingADragon mocking a pirate captain over his love for men is likely to get you]] [[CruelAndUnusualDeath shanked, gutted, and hung up on your intensities on the ship's mast.]]

** Alice does well, but the dress shop is 'officially' owned and Alice is 'employed' by [[ExceptionallyTolerant a generous White man who despises racism]] who is really a silent partner to give a veneer of acceptability to society. This shields her from the worst of the problems as racists can rationalize her as merely a good servant of someone 'proper'.

* '''Straight''': A story that takes place in the DeepSouth ''just'' after UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar depicts Alice, a Black woman, running a very successful business. None of the other characters blinks.

** The author is a PolicitcallyCorrectVillain making propaganda.

** YouHaveToHaveJews, even when religious or cultural background wouldn't be really important to the story.

** The story takes place in a WretchedHive setting. One of its very few upsides is that nobody cares who or what anyone is. Deserters, pirates, murderers, thieves, and traitors prowl the city and everyone knows it. Given the amount of 'bad people' walking around, nobody is likely to care about lesser issues like some excommunicated clergy marrying two men, even if it would incite a riot in more 'respectable' cities. Besides, [[BullyingADragon mocking a pirate captain over his love for men is likely to get you stabbed]].

** [[FlawlessToken Positive Discrimination]]

* '''Straight''': A story that takes place in the DeepSouth ''just'' after the UsefulNotes/AmericanCivilWar depicts Alice, a black woman, running a very successful business. None of the other characters blink.
* '''Exaggerated''':
** Not only does it feature the above situation, but the main characters are a FiveTokenBand

** Alice does well but the dress shop is 'officially' owned by and Alice is 'employed' [[ExceptionallyTolerant a generous white man who despises racism]] who is really a silent partner to give a veneer of acceptability to society. This shields her from the worst of the problems as racists can rationalize her as merely a good servant of someone 'proper'.
** Alice is a black woman who's dating or married to a white man in a time and place where such interracial relationships would be illegal. Anti-miscegenation sentiments are only vaguely acknowledged when the couple receives shocked glares and stares from strangers, but nobody actually says anything.

** The story takes place in a WretchedHive setting. One of its very few upsides is that nobody gives a damn about who or what anyone is. Deserters, pirates, murderers, thieves, and traitors prowl the city and everyone knows it. Given the amount of 'bad people' walking around, nobody is likely to care about lesser issues like some excommunicated clergy marrying two men, even if it would incite a riot in more 'respectable' cities. Besides, [[BullyingADragon mocking a pirate captain over his love for men is likely to get you stabbed]].

** The story depicts Alice as having lost ''everything'', even implying that she was (somewhat) [[HappinessInSlavery better off as a slave]].

** The story is set in modern times, but with all the social mores of the past still relatively ''unchanged'' ([[DeliberateValuesDissonance and with all of its flaws]]). Alice is still considered to be property in an otherwise modern-looking 21st century.
** The bigotry manages to become historically inaccurate. While people may look down on Alice for being a lesbian in Chicago in the 1970s she couldn't be arrested for that explicitly.

** Alice is [[TheOldestProfession a brothel madam]]. Most of her girls are young black women, and most of the clients are sleazy white men.
** Alice is not very well off at the beginning, but [[BlackGalOnWhiteGuyDrama she gets married to Bob]], a wealthy white man (who happens to be the son of her former owner.)
** Alice's blackness is later revealed to have been based upon a historical misinterpretation. When accounts described her as dark skinned and from Africa they meant she was well tanned and from Boer farmers who immigrated. She was still white and considered as such.

** She still gets to do things that ''any'' woman at the time, let alone a black woman, would be unlikely to get to do, and she's still very sympathetic to the audience.

* '''Zig Zagged''': An alternate history mixes various levels. While gender roles are rigidly enforced more approrpiate to the 1800s than the 1980s transgender people are accepted regardless of their birth sex. The situation with homosexuality however is about the same still.

** [[MonochromeCasting The cast consists entirely of]] {{White Male Lead}}s.

** PositiveDiscrimination

** "Wow! This actress is so awesome, we ''have'' to cast her in this role! Sure, we meant that role to go to a white woman, but maybe the audience won't notice (or at least won't mind.)"

* '''Lampshaded''': A note flashes at the beginning noting that casting was done both colorblind and genderblind with minimal line changes resulting in the politically correct history - with bizarre implications.
* '''Invoked''': Alice finds herself in need of money to feed her family now that she's free. She has a real talent for sewing (in fact, that's what she did as a slave), so she finds a way to get the materials she needs and starts a lucrative dressmaking business. ''Everyone'' loves her dresses.
* '''Exploited''': Alice uses her place in society to advance civil rights.
* '''Deconstructed''':
** While everything seems peachy at first there but it becomes increasingly clear that something wrong is happening with the timeline. [[AnachronismStew A few anachronisms]] [[OrphanedEtymology and inconsistent names start slipping through]] such as referring to things as lynch mobs metaphorically despite that /never/ happening after the war. It turns out that there is a heavy degree of meddling to achieve this tolerant history and it may result in some very nasty side effects far worse than the cognitive dissonance.
** Alternatively it is shown just how extreme circumstances and efforts would be to force the Antebellum South to accept Alice in spite of the prejudices of the day and the damage caused by forcing it. Alice has to be a 'successful businesswoman' in the same sense as UsefulNotes/AlCapone. She may get treated with modern respect but it is only because everyone is so afraid of her.
* '''Defied''': People just aren't ready to accept Alice, so they don't buy her dresses... and Alice eventually loses her business and goes back to square one.
* '''Discussed''': ???
* '''Conversed''': ???

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'''Basic Trope''': A work that takes place in a different time period has situations and character relations suited to the tastes of modern audiences.

** The work depicts Alice as having lost ''everything'', even implying that she was (somewhat) [[HappinessInSlavery better off as a slave]].

** The work is set in the modern days with the viewpoints of the past still unchanged [[DeliberateValuesDissonance with all of its flaws]]. Alice is still considered property in an otherwise modern 2017.

** The work takes place in a setting is a WretchedHive. One of its very few upsides is that nobody gives a damn about who or what anyone is. Deserters, pirates, murderers, thieves, and traitors prowl the city and everyone knows it. Given the amount of 'bad people' nobody is likely to care about lesser issues like some excommunicated clergy marrying two men even if it would incite a riot in more 'respectable' cities. Besides [[BullyingADragon mocking a pirate captain over liking men is likely to get you stabbed.]]

** Alice a black woman is married to a white man in a time and place where such a relationship would be illegal. Prejudice against such a relationship is only vaguely acknowledged when the couple receives glares and stares from strangers, but no actually says anything.

** Some subtle hints that Alice might be [[AmbiguouslyGay a lesbian]] or [[BiTheWay bisexual]] are dropped.

** Alice is revealed to have been real

** Alternatively it is shown just how extreme circumstances and efforts would be to force the Antebellum South to accept Alice in spite of the prejudices of the day and the damage caused by forcing it. Alice has to be a 'successful businesswoman' in the same sense as AlCapone. She may get treated with modern respect but it is only because everyone is so afraid of her.