Françoise Nore offers you a translation of the article by Nicholas Kristof published on the website New York Times.
Before the millions of views, the ridicule that followed and finally the sincere apology, the Stylebook[1] The Associated Press' tweet was pretty much overflowing with good intentions last week:
"We recommend avoiding generalizing and often dehumanizing labels such as "the poor," "the mentally ill," "the French," "the disabled," "those with college degrees."
"The French"?
Oh my![2] The result was a wave of mocking proposals about how to tactfully call, uh, people of French persuasion. The French Embassy in the United States proposed changing its name to the “Embassy of Frenchness.”
The AP Stylebook deleted his tweet, citing "an inappropriate reference to the French." But it came back to recommend avoiding general terms containing "the," such as "the poor, the mentally ill, the wealthy, the disabled, the college educated."
It's not clear to me that "college graduates" is a label that dehumanizes people. I guess George Santos[3] would like to be included in this category.
The controversy over the French highlights the current project of revising the terminology in a way that is supposed to be inclusive but which, I fear, is counterproductive and ends up inviting mockery and strengthening the right.
De Latino à Latinx. The Women à People with a uterus. The Homeless à Homeless. The LGBT à LGBTQIA2S+. ofBreastfeeding à Breastfeeding. ofAsian American à AAPI[4]. ofEx-convict à Returning Citizen. The Pro-choice à Pro-decision. I live in the world of words, but I still feel a little dizzy.
As for my homeless friends, what they want is not to be called homeless; they want housing.
Rep. Ritchie Torres, a New York Democrat who identifies as Afro-Latino, noted that according to a Pew survey[5], only 3% of Hispanics use the term themselves Latinx.
"I have no personal objection to the term Latinx and I will use it myself in front of an audience that prefers it," Torres told me. "But it is worth asking whether the widespread use of the term Latinx both within government and corporate America does not reflect the agenda-setting power[6] left-wing whites rather than the actual preferences of working-class Latinos."
Similarly, terms like BIPOC – for Black, Indigenous and People of Color[7] — appear to be used primarily by white liberals. A national poll conducted for the Times found that white Democrats were twice as likely to feel “very favorable” about the term as nonwhite people.
A legitimate concern about transgender men having uteruses has also led to linguistic gymnastics to avoid the word “women.” In the interest of inclusion, the American Cancer Society recommends cancer screenings for “people with cervixes,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention[8] offer help “for people who are breastfeeding” and the Cleveland Clinic offers advice for “people who are menstruating.”
The goal is to avoid dehumanizing anyone. But some women feel dehumanized when they are called “birthing people,” or when The Lancet features “bodies with vaginas” on its cover.
The American Medical Association has published a 54-page guide on language as a means of addressing social problems – oops, it suggests using the term social injustice, which is “equity-focused.” The AMA objects to mentioning “vulnerable” groups or “underrepresented minority”; instead, it advises alternatives like “oppressed” and “historically minoritized.”
Um. If the AMA really cared about “equity-driven” outcomes in the United States, it could simply end its opposition to single-payer health care.[9]
Dr. Irwin Redlener, Chairman Emeritus of the Children's Health Fund[10] and a longtime advocate for vulnerable children, told me that the language efforts reflect “liberals overdoing it in creating definitions and subdivisions” – and he is, like me, a liberal.
"In reality, instead of accomplishing anything useful, it exacerbates divisions," Redlener said, and I think he's right.
I am very much in favour of inclusive language, and I try to avoid language that is stigmatizing. But I am concerned that this language campaign has gone too far, for three reasons.
First, much of this effort seems to me to be performative rather than substantive. Rather than inciting action, it seems to substitute for it.
After all, these are the blue cities of the West Coast, where people living on the streets are often delicately described as “unhoused people,” these are the cities with the highest rates of unsheltered homelessness. Why not worry less about jargon and more about zoning and other evidence-based policies that actually get people into housing?
Second, problems are easier to solve when language is clear and incisive. The AMA's style guide on health, by contrast, is a verbose model of obfuscation, empty words, and sloppy analysis.
Third, while this new terminology is meant to be inclusive, it confuses and alienates millions of Americans. It creates a group of educated elites who are fluent in terms like BIPOC and AAPI and a broader group of confused and offended voters, widening the divide between well-educated liberals and the 62 percent of Americans age 25 and older who don’t have a high school diploma—which is why Republicans like Ron DeSantis have seized on all things “woke.”
DeSantis, who boasts of ousting the “woke crowd,” seems to me to be the primary beneficiary when, for example, the Cleveland Clinic explains anatomy this way: “Who has a vagina? People who are assigned female at birth (AFAB)[11]) have a vagina.”
So I fear that our linguistic contortions, however well-intentioned, do not actually address our country's glaring inequalities or realize progressive dreams; instead, they provide fuel for right-wing leaders whose goal is to move the country in the opposite direction.
[1] A style and grammar guide to American Anglo-American, created by American journalists working for the Associated Press. Initially intended for the press, the Stylebook has become the reference in corporate communication in recent decades.
[2] In French in the original text.
[3] American politician (1988-), member of the Republican Party, representing the third district of New York in Congress, convicted of having lied about his educational, autobiographical and professional background.
[4] Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
[5] The Pew Research Center is an American research center that provides statistics and conducts surveys.
[6] The agenda (agenda setting) is a concept of American origin. It consists of the passage of an issue from the private domain to the public domain; in doing so and by imposing a timetable of the problems to be dealt with, the media would shape public opinion.
[7] “Black, Indigenous and People of Color.”
[8] “Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”
[9] Expression single payer means that health services are paid for through government funding. This is therefore a form of government support.
[10] “Children’s Health Fund”.
[11] AFAB: Assigned Female at Birth.
