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- The Conscious Language Newsletter: December 2021
The Conscious Language Newsletter: December 2021
From the World of Conscious Language
Note: The authors’ viewpoints are not necessarily shared by Conscious Style Guide.
“For VFC, it’s not that ‘plant-based’ is inaccurate. It’s just that veganism is more accurate in describing its mission and the responsibility it feels to save as many animals as possible.”
Cultivated, Cultured, or Other? Making Alt Meat Terminology Appealing and Transparent | Food Navigator
“From in vitro to synthetic, lab-grown, cell-based, cultivated and cultured, slaughter-free meat grown from animal cells has been called a myriad of names…But which term is most appealing, and transparent, to consumers?”
5 Tips for Avoiding Mistakes in News Headlines About Health and Medical Research | The Journalist’s Resource
Tip No. 1: “Don’t use these words and phrases when describing research findings: breakthrough, revolutionary, life-changing, game-changing, landmark, miracle, Holy Grail.”
Many Global Charities Refrain From “Poverty Porn” Imagery to Raise Money From Donors, but Stereotypes Still Distort Their Pictures | The Conversation
“What may be a sincere effort to elicit sympathy distorts the reality of everyday life in developing countries.”
Trans People Have a Long History in Appalachia—but Politicians Prefer to Ignore It | The Conversation
“When politicians frame transgender youth as a new phenomenon, they ignore the fact that gender nonconforming young people have existed for generations.”
Human Geneticists Curb Use of the Term “Race” in Their Papers | ScienceInsider
“The decline…reflects how geneticists slowly came to understand race as ‘a social category with biological consequences,’ the team writes in its paper, published today in AJHG.”
“Trying to shame people into using condoms or wearing masks is rarely successful. Respectfully hearing them out and addressing their concerns is much more likely to persuade them to change.”
How Publishers Can Get Alt Text Right | Publishers Weekly
How can #AltText and accessibility be improved? “For news and photo agencies, it makes sense to capture a description at the point a photograph is taken or acquired.”
CSG in the News
Choosing a Style Guide | ACES: The Society for Editing
“Consistency matters, but sometimes you need to rely on your good judgment about what will best serve your readers.”
Some Notes on “Asshat” | Merriam-Webster
“The use of this word has, over the past two decades, spread considerably, and it may now be found even among the most urbane and sophisticated speakers of English.”
Ask an Award Winner: An Interview With Iva Cheung | The Editors’ Weekly
“One resource I’d recommend to all student affiliate editors is the Conscious Style Guide, which helps writers and editors choose respectful, affirming language that promotes equity and justice.”
Want to Perfect Your Inclusive Language in Marketing? Here’s How. | The Social Element
“There’s so much terminology that people don’t think about. But we have to think about it.”
From the Archives
Putting Language on a Meat-Free Diet | Conscious Style Guide
“It makes little sense to alienate 16 million people without good reason.”
In Case You Missed It
Inclusive Language Guidelines | American Psychological Association
New in CSG’s General section, which is also new!
Disability reporting, poverty coverage, accessible data visualizations, and more.
Diverse Picture Books Recommended by CSG
On DiversePictureBooks.com (our Bookshop.org storefront), find exceptional picture books that spread understanding, compassion, and joy through diverse representation.
“I Can’t Find…” Yes, You Can!
The Editors of Color Database, a project of Conscious Style Guide, is a free service that connects employers and recruiters with editors, proofreaders, and sensitivity readers of color in the U.S. and Canada. It’s also free to submit job listings for distribution to our private network of editorial pros. The Editors of Color website is home to the Database of Diverse Databases, now with 100 resources featuring underrepresented communities. Diversify your staff and sources now!
Get Conscious Writing Tips on Instagram!
Follow @consciousstyleguide on Instagram for examples of how context can support sensitive content, with a focus on children’s books, including young adult.
The Conscious Style Guide newsletter rounds up the best news and blog posts from the world of kind, compassionate, mindful, empowering, respectful, and inclusive language. Note: Spotlighting an opinion is not intended as an endorsement. Please send news tips to [email protected].
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