March 2015 Newsletter

See You at ACES 2015

Welcome to Conscious Style Guide’s newsletter.

If you’re in Pittsburgh this week for the American Copy Editors Society’s annual national conference, come say hi to me. I’m a speaker on the “Language of the LGBT Community” panel (Friday, March 27, 4:30 p.m.), part of this year’s track on cultural sensitivity. If it’s anything like last year’s conference, being surrounded by half a thousand editors is going to be an amazing experience.

Blissfully yours,

Karen YinFounder

“The creator of the AP vs. Chicago website has turned her attention to ways in which words include or exclude, marginalize or empower. Karen Yin has created Conscious Style Guide as “an online resource for kind, compassionate, and inclusive language.”

“Saitz said doctors and others should change their language. It’s time to stop saying ‘clean,’ as in a ‘clean drug test.’ He said ‘addict’ is not a terrible word, and it’s better to say ‘a person who suffers from addiction.’”

“The university allows students like Gieselman to select their own identity — a new first name, regardless of whether they’ve legally changed it, as well as a chosen pronoun….”

“Making LGBT couples feel more welcome as customers starts with the language used on website and marketing materials, Paquette said.”

“Most parents don’t want to raise a bully. But in order to teach those, we need to hold ourselves to a higher standard, too, and ban these common phrases and words from our homes.”

“The idea is getting respect for everyone. It’s not necessarily just individuals with intellectual disabilities, but for every person, regardless of race or religion or ethnic background.”

“Maybe a sentence we use doesn’t contain a slur or an insult, but it can still intimidate and prevent people from asking for assistance or information….”

“In January, the Daily Dot nearly failed its own Web accessibility audit.”

“Adoptees of color often have had POC from their own communities tell them that they are are not ‘Asian enough,’ ‘Black enough,’ ‘Colombian enough,’ etc., while simultaneously dealing with racial slurs….”

“In my workshops, one of the things I like to ask white people is, ‘What are the rules for how people of color should give us feedback about our racism? What are the rules, where did you get them, and whom do they serve?’ Usually those questions alone make the point.”

“A laser focus on genital anatomy is one of the major ways that cisgender gatekeepers exclude, ostracize, and disbelieve trans people.”

“Frame addiction as ‘substance abuse’ and it is easy to see why it should be a crime, but call it ‘substance use disorder’ and it sounds like something to be treated medically.”

 The Problem With ‘Fat Talk’ | The New York Times

“When women question whether their bodies are good enough, they may well be causing other women to do the same.”

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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