The Conscious Language Newsletter: December 2025

Considerations when covering political leaders’ health.

Author

Karen Yin
December 18, 2025

A Note From the Founder

Black-and-white portrait of Karen Yin, a light-skinned Chinese American woman with long, wavy hair. Her arms are folded on a table in front of her. She smiles gently at the camera, with head tilted.

Dear readers,

I wish I had a pithy line to end the year on, but all I want to say is thank you. Thanks to all of you for reading my newsletter and giving fair and equitable language a chance.

Till next year.

From the World of Conscious Language

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

PLAIN LANGUAGE

“It turns out that using plain language to ensure everyone in society can find and understand the laws, rules and judicial decisions that affect them is one of the cheapest and most effective ways to improve access to justice.”

JOURNALISM / HEALTH

“Coverage that treats mobility devices, speech patterns or age as symbols of decline reinforces stigma, whereas coverage that focuses on how decisions are made and how institutions adapt provides useful information. The difference is subtle but significant.”

GENDER, SEX + SEXUALITY / VIOLENCE

“Acronyms become the euphemisms that dilute the severity of the acts they describe.”

What’s in a Label? Rethinking How We Talk About Gender-Based Violence

“Every label captures something true while also missing something else. The goal is not perfection or consistency; it is intention.”

AGE

“Help-wanted advertisements with buzzwords like ‘energetic,’ ‘fast-paced,’ ‘digital native’ and ‘fresh perspectives’ abound. But these potentially ageist descriptors are problematic at best—and illegal at worst.”

JOURNALISM

“Identifying the game being played and calling it out, so that audiences can understand why things are being said and not just that they are said, is critical to covering state-sanctioned trolling ethically and effectively.”

PLAIN LANGUAGE / JOURNALISM

“Whatever you can do to explain our process, no matter how obvious it may seem to us, will help lessen the gap between your journalism and the public.”

ETHNICITY, RACE + NATIONALITY

The “Indigenous Identity Reporting Guide,” by the Indigenous Journalists Association, is a living document that offers tips and strategies for approaching the topic of Indigenous identity fraud.

Graphic with white background features the navy-blue cover of The Conscious Style Guide. At the top: “Change the way you think about inclusive language.” To the right of the cover: “Also available as an ebook and an audiobook.” Below this copy is the Little, Brown Spark logo, which has an S shaped like a sunburst.

For a bulk discount, please email Hachette Book Group at [email protected].

CSG in the News

“Advocate for gender-neutral or gender-free language in the texts you work on.”

Most Popular Posts

• Travel Expert Who’s Visited 70 Countries Shares 7 Phrases Americans Should Never Say Abroad
• Doing DEI When You Can’t Use the “D”, the “E” or the “I” Word
• Plain Language Resistance: Is “Plain” the Problem?

Shop and Support

Photo of an ocean-blue tee on a white-washed fence.

Photo by Uni-T.

You Need This! Play, work, and sleep in the super soft “Make Peace With Words” T-shirt. Choose from a variety of colors. (Fitted shirts available in XXS through XXL, and straight-cut shirts available in XS through XXL.) Hand-printed with love. Your purchase supports two small businesses owned by women of color. Why make peace? Read the article!

Make More Space! Fans of Whole Whale will love the huggable 9” by 9” board book format. In this raucous rhyming tale about making space, 100 unusual animals try to squeeze into the pages of the book. Features an expansive double gatefold and a list of the animals. "This simple rhyming book packs a powerful message."—School Library Journal. Visit KarenYin.com/Books to learn more.

Graphic illustration showing a medium-brown-skinned child with pigtails reading a book in front of a rainbow.

Diverse Picture Books: Shop at DiversePictureBooks.com for exceptional picture books that spread understanding, compassion, and joy through diverse representation.

More Resources

Join Our Online Community: Are you on Facebook? Join the Conscious Language + Design Facebook Group to learn, share, and chat with others who are curious or serious about conscious language.

Find Editors of Color: The Editors of Color Database, one of Writer’s Digest’s 101 Best Websites for Writers (2023 and 2024), helps recruiters connect with editors, proofreaders, and sensitivity readers of color in the U.S. and Canada. You can submit job listings for distribution to our private network and explore the 100+ resources in Diverse Databases, which highlights underrepresented groups. Diversify your sources now!

Get More Tips on Instagram: Follow @ConsciousStyleGuide for examples of context that supports sensitive content.

Did Someone Forward This to You?

Get The Conscious Language Newsletter in your in-box!
There’s no other newsletter like it.