Try to make sure we’re using language that is welcoming and inclusive of all people. Thinking about word choices can go a long way to making people feel included by and in your content.
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IMPORTANT: It it essential to write for and about other people in a way that is compassionate, inclusive and respectful. |
Here are some guidelines of how certain words and/or phrases should be considered for inclusivity:
- Words like "crazy" or "psycho": These terms are used frequently, but when we consider the actual definitions (chaotic, uncertain, wild, offbeat), we understand that these terms can be off-putting to people with mental illness. Depending on the context, there are many other words that can be used instead.
- Gendered terms: Avoid gendered terms in favor of neutral alternatives, like “server” instead of “waitress” and “businessperson” instead of “businessman.”
- Words like "victim": When referencing a person’s, or a group’s, medical condition or physical disability, emphasize the person first. Don’t call a person with a medical condition or disability a “victim.”
- Migrant terms: Migration is a temporary condition that shouldn’t embody the entire existence of people undertaking that journey. Migrants are people first. When writing about them, we should remember to emphasize their individuality as human beings rather than as an economic or social category. When we refer to migrants, we can use “migrant people” or migrant families”, or “someone who has crossed an international border”, as well as” asylum seekers” and refugees, which can be “people who have submitted an asylum application”, and “people who have been granted asylum in….”.