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- The Conscious Language Newsletter: May 2021
The Conscious Language Newsletter: May 2021
From the World of Conscious Language
Note: The authors’ viewpoints are not necessarily shared by Conscious Style Guide.
Israel-Palestine: A Glossary of Problematic Media Language | Middle East Eye
“Often, the target of criticism is language that appears to equivocate between unequal sides.”
Who Counts as Asian, and What Counts as Anti-Asian Hate? | #StopAsianHate
“Despite this extensive recent history of violence against South Asian Americans, the narratives of anti-Asian violence in the media and community commentary continue to privilege East Asians.”
AAJA Advises Media Organizations to Heed South Asian Journalists Association’s Guidance Regarding Reporting on the New COVID-19 Variant From India | Asian American Journalists Association
Instead, use “the variant first detected in India,” which follows WHO’s naming practices.
7 Tips for Photojournalists Covering Poverty | Covering Poverty
“If the published photos feed into stereotypes or fail to honor the people living inside your frames, that is all the world will see.”
How Journalists Tracked Down Missing Data to Change the Conversation on Homelessness | Global Investigative Journalism Network
UK journalist Maeve McClenaghan “believes that understanding the nuance of each person’s situation was essential for capturing the causes and consequences of modern homelessness in the UK.”
Black Gen Z’ers Want You to Stop Sharing Videos of Police Killing People Who Look Like Them | BuzzFeed News
“It’s profoundly exhausting, being so plugged into constant violence while also just trying to grow up Black in America.”
“Deprogramming” QAnon Followers Ignores Free Will and Why They Adopted the Beliefs in the First Place | The Conversation
“To suggest ‘they were temporarily out of their minds’ relieves followers of the conspiracy of responsibility and shelters the rest of society from grappling with uncomfortable social realities.”
The Call for Plain Language: A Q & A With Disability Studies Professor Rebecca Monteleone | Center for Journalism Ethics
“I do think there’s an obligation to recognize that if your goal is to inform the public, then you need to make sure that you’re actually including the public.”
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What’s the Best Way to Refer to Everyone Who Isn’t Cis? | Radical Copyeditor
“Different contexts require different language.”
How Parents Can Support Their Trans Children | Phys.org
“Trans kids fear rejection when coming out, so very explicit support is important.”
5 Ways to Challenge Systemic Ableism During Autism Acceptance Month | The Conversation
“Troubling tropes of autism as a disorder and burden must be left behind, and replaced by a form of neurodiversity that embraces diversity.”
Does Your Doctor Speak Your Language? | Chicago Tribune
“Patients whose preferred language isn’t English are being treated by doctors who aren’t using an interpreter and aren’t proficient in the language.”
What the Sound of Your Name Says About You | BBC Future
“[The researchers’] findings may lend weight [to] calls to remove names from important processes altogether, and anonymise CVs or scientific papers under review, to counter unconscious bias.”
Gender-Neutral Pronouns in Creative Writing | CMOS Shop Talk
“While it’s true that in rare cases using ‘they’ (or ‘you’) for both singular and plural can lead to confusion, that problem arises with all pronouns, including ‘he,’ ‘she,’ and ‘it.’”
“Labeling something as ‘woke’ as a means of arrogantly dismissing it often feels like a convenient cop out for those who seem allergic to self-reflection, thoughtful analysis…or maybe accountability.”
CSG in the News
“Using inclusive language, even (especially) when it’s not familiar to your audience, can help them learn and get used to it.”
From the Archives
You Are Where? The Name Gentrification of Low-Income Neighborhoods | Conscious Style Guide
“These residents haven’t moved to the traditional Eastside. They’ve moved ‘the Eastside’ to where they live.”
In Case You Missed It
The use and style of antisemitism, womxn, and BIPOC.
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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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