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- The Conscious Language Newsletter: June 2021
The Conscious Language Newsletter: June 2021
From the World of Conscious Language
Note: The authors’ viewpoints are not necessarily shared by Conscious Style Guide.
Giving a Damn About Accessibility | UX Collective
A candid and practical handbook for designers.
“Change could be as simple as using phrases such as ‘get yourself into a comfortable position, no matter what that looks like’ or ‘if you can’ wiggle your toes. It really would not cost anything to create a more inclusive environment.”
Why We’re No Longer Naming Suspects in Minor Crime Stories | The Associated Press
“These minor stories…have long lives on the internet. AP’s broad distribution network can make it difficult for the suspects named in such items to later gain employment or just move on in their lives.”
Adopting Gender Neutral Sporting Terminology Is a No-Brainer | The Telegraph
“It is fitting that a tournament making efforts to promote the women’s and men’s fixtures on the same platform…would adopt as gender-neutral a vocabulary as possible.”
Time to Retire the Word “Homeless” and Opt for “Houseless” or “Unhoused” Instead? | Architectural Digest
“‘Homeless’ has become intertwined with narratives that are toxic. It deserves to be retired.” —Eve Garrow, homelessness policy analyst and advocate, ACLU of Southern California
What Is Food Insecurity? | The Conversation
“Although awareness of food insecurity is growing, it is important to understand what is meant by the term and how it fits with other food access concepts, such as hunger and food sovereignty.” Food policy researcher Caitlin Caspi discusses terms such as food insecurity, food swamp, food sovereignty, food justice, food desert, and food apartheid.
Indigenous Peoples: Language Guidelines | The University of British Columbia
One of the resources in our Ethnicity guide has been updated. Here’s the latest version of The University of British Columbia’s “Indigenous Peoples: Language Guidelines.”
Academic Journals, Journalists Perpetuate Misinformation in Their Handling of Research Retractions, a New Study Finds | The Journalist’s Resource
Tips for journalists include: “focus on the findings of groups of studies rather than individual studies”; monitor online discussions of published research; and use technologies and sites like Zotero, PubMed, and Retraction Watch.
By Changing Their Framing of Scientific Failures and Discoveries, Journalists Can Bolster Trust in Science: New Research | The Journalist’s Resource
“[Study coauthor] Yotam Ophir says news outlets usually fail to recognize the role retractions play in advancing scientific knowledge.”
“Not everything on Twitter is a good candidate for an algorithm, and in this case, how to crop an image is a decision best made by people.” —Rumman Chowdhury, software engineering director, Twitter
“Master,” “Slave” and the Fight Over Offensive Terms in Computing | The New York Times
“While the industry abandons objectionable terms, there is no consensus about which new words to use. Without guidance from the Internet Engineering Task Force or another standards body, engineers decide on their own.”
Are You Confused by Scientific Jargon? So Are Scientists | The New York Times
“Fewer citations can mean that a paper isn’t getting read and remembered…the team concluded. Other researchers have found, however, that using less-common words…can be beneficial.”
Style Q&A | The Chicago Manual of Style Online
“We like AP’s new guidance, which discourages writing that would reduce people to physical characteristics or gender stereotypes (as in a phrase like ‘the blonde in the front row’).”
“Every time we call ourselves Asian American, we are making a powerful political statement that we are American, and we belong here.”
CSG in the News
AAJA Commends The New York Times’ Decision to Drop the Hyphen in “Asian American” | Asian American Journalists Association
“We are especially grateful for the work of our longtime member and current National Board member, Henry Fuhrmann, who advised AAAS’s effort after they reached out to AAJA for support in April 2021, and to AAJA’s Catalyst alumna Karen Yin, the founder of Conscious Style Guide.” —Naomi Tacuyan Underwood, executive director, AAJA
The Dart Center Style Guide for Trauma-Informed Journalism | Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma
Thanks to The Dart Center for recommending Conscious Style Guide as a resource!
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Marketing: Changing the Way You Market | Influencer Marketing Hub
“These statistics make it clear that concentrating on DEI should be one of your digital marketing strategies for 2021 and the years ahead. Consumers will no longer be able to support brands that they perceive as unethical or passive bystanders.”
From the Archives
Making Web Images Accessible to People Who Are Blind | Conscious Style Guide
“It says a lot to a blind person when you go out of your way to include them.”
In Case You Missed It
Avoiding “bothsidesism” with Israel-Palestine relations, considering bias and privilege in narratives about anti-Asian violence, following South Asian Journalists Association’s guidance when reporting on the new COVID-19 variant from India, and more.
Tools for Diversity
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 almost 90 resources featuring underrepresented communities. Diversify your staff and sources now!
More 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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