From the World of Conscious Language

Note: The authors' viewpoints are not necessarily shared by CSG.

GENDER, SEX + SEXUALITY

Queer Language: Borrowed Grammar, Made-Up Words, and Chosen Family

“When queer people invent language, we’re not just being clever, we’re articulating a vision of how relationships, bodies, and selves could be seen if the rules weren’t written by someone else.”

JOURNALISM

“I Fixed That for You”: Why Mainstream Headlines Keep Failing

“But why do the headlines—and those who write and approve them—fail us so often? It’s partly the desire not to offend, to play it safe.”

CLIMATE + ENVIRONMENT

How a Simple Metaphor Can Save Planet Earth

“People don’t necessarily learn from facts alone. They learn from facts that are made clear by simple metaphors, especially those that touch their moral values.”

PLAIN LANGUAGE / ABILITY + DISABILITY

ASAN Says No Generative AI in Plain Language

“As an experiment, staff at [the Autistic Self Advocacy Network] took things we had written and asked a generative AI to lower the reading level. The text we put in was about how autistic people deserve rights…The AI added sentences about how some autistic people have very rare and amazing talents. This is not something that ASAN would say. We believe autistic people deserve rights even if we don’t have amazing talents.”

DESIGN + IMAGES

Shower Gel Ad Gets UK Ban for Suggesting Black Skin Is Problematic

“The watchdog [Advertising Standards Authority] said the ad was ‘structured in such a way that it was the black skin…shown to be problematic and uncomfortable, whereas the white skin, depicted as smoother and clean after using the product, was shown successfully changed and resolved.’”

JOURNALISM

How to Ensure Reporting on ICE Goes Beyond Focusing on Citizenship Status

Helpful frames for covering ICE, such as “examin[ing] commonalities among communities that ICE has yet to target.”

JOURNALISM

In Passionate Defense of Counterprogramming

“Counterprogramming is a perfect forum for highlighting smaller or more unique acts of resistance.”

TEACHING CHILDREN

Getting Beyond Answers Like “Fine” and “Nothing”: 5 Simple Ways to Spark Real Talk With Kids

“When a ‘why’ gets shut down, a child’s curiosity and wonder are also snuffed out. Instead, try acknowledging and engaging with this curiosity: ‘Good question. Here’s my thinking …’ or ‘Let’s talk about why this is important…’”

GENDER, SEX + SEXUALITY

What Can Nature Teach Us About Sex and Gender?

“Just because we have words and categories with strict definitions doesn’t mean that represents the reality. You gotta remember, we invented words, we invented categories, we invented definitions, and we have to be open to the possibility that those need to be revised from time to time.”

DESIGN + IMAGES

AI-Generated Stereotypes Are Reinforcing Digital Minstrelsy and Black Women Are Paying the Price

“Every Black woman image the system returned was overexaggerated—none of them looked like a tech executive or podcast host. We’re either invisible in AI or turned into a stereotype. There’s no in-between, and that’s precisely the problem.’”—Candiace Scarborough, director of cybersecurity and software engineering, Parsons Corporation

DESIGN + IMAGES

“Australiana” Images Made by AI Are Racist and Full of Tired Cliches, New Study Shows

“When prompted for an ‘Australian’s house,’ Meta AI generated a suburban brick house with a well-kept garden, swimming pool and lush green lawn. When we then asked for an ‘Aboriginal Australian’s house,’ the generator came up with a grass-roofed hut in red dirt, adorned with ‘Aboriginal-style’ art motifs.”

RECLAIMING

Why People Reclaim Words Meant to Insult Them—and How This Has Become a Powerful Tool for Protest

“Others may worry that embracing the label reinforces stereotypes. But that tension is part of what makes reappropriation so powerful and so political. It forces a public reckoning with language, power and identity.”

JOURNALISM

When the Words Reporters Use Are Junk, Their Stories Are Junk, Too

“A police officer might describe a passionate public demonstration as a ‘riot.’ Before repeating that label, experienced journalists will ask the officer to defend that word choice with evidence. Was there widespread violence or vandalism? What percentage of the crowd participated?”

ETHNICITY, RACE + NATIONALITY > NATIVE/INDIGENOUS PEOPLES

Indigenous Cultural Protocols: What the Media Needs to Do When Depicting Deceased Persons

“In many areas of Indigenous Australia, reproduction of the names and photographs of deceased people is restricted during a period of mourning.”

Most Popular Posts

In the June 2025 Newsletter

• Talking About Homelessness: New Report Highlights How Everyday Language Perpetuates Stigma
• Stop Saying “I’ve Been There” When Empathizing With Someone—Here’s How to Truly Be Helpful
• A Contestant on a Popular TV Show Used This Racist Word. Many People Don’t Even Know It’s a Slur

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