Posted on 04/20/2024 12:50:45 PM PDT by Fiji Hill
As journalists, it’s our job to choose our words wisely and not perpetuate stereotypes.
n the 13 years that I’ve lived in the US, I’ve heard the words “No can do” on so many occasions — from teachers, comics, news anchors, Hall & Oates — that I’ve always thought it was simply a cheeky way to say “alas.”
But the phrase, I learned several days ago, emerged in the late 19th century, around the time the US passed the Chinese Exclusion Act banning immigration from China, the country of my birth. Some white Americans popularized the saying to mock the accented, sometimes ungrammatical English of Chinese immigrants.
Sign up for our newsletter! Right Arrow There are many common sayings we take for granted that have racist histories and inferences, some more obvious than others. Take “open the kimono” (which describes corporate transparency) and “kabuki” (a stand-in for political theater). While innocuous in corporate-speak and among media pundits, phrases like “open the kimono” still evoke the image of a bared body that draws on harmful stereotypes against Asian women, said Naomi Tacuyan Underwood, the executive director of Asian American Journalists Association.
“A term like this acts like ‘death by a thousand cuts’ in that it isn’t outright malicious, but it perpetuates the hypersexualization of Asian women,” she said. “We have to acknowledge the fact that it does have historical roots in the western gaze on Asia.”
As journalists, we have an ethical obligation to choose our words wisely, particularly when describing people from underrepresented groups. It’s important not to glaze over words and phrases — often not English in origin — that perpetuate stereotypes and trivialize historical trauma against marginalized communities.
“In journalism, our goal is to build trust and credibility,” said Karen Yin, editor and founder of the Conscious Style Guide, a digital library of resources and newsletters on crafting inclusive language. “If our word choices repeatedly veer into insensitive territory, we’ll end up insulting and alienating our audience.”
What’s more, Yin said, clichés and idioms that draw on racist, sexist or ableist tropes often obscure prose and wind up confusing the reader.
“The fix is simple: Say what you mean,” she said. “Using clear, precise and plain language goes a long way. And always consider the context, because context and content work together.”
Below are some examples of insensitive language to look out for.
Language that’s harmful to the disability community Words like “insane,” “crazy” and “hysterical,” better known as “disability euphemisms,” have become common parlance to describe shocking occurrences, and are often found in headlines and sprinkled throughout reporting. The same goes for “crippled” and “lame” and metaphors like “turning a blind eye.” Experts say such language, while generally non-malicious, can be damaging to people with disabilities by underplaying the seriousness of their conditions.
“For many people with disabilities, the cumulative effect of this sort of ‘innocuous’ language is that it ignores their existence,” said Kristin Gilger, director at the National Center on Disability and Journalism at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
Gilger said the challenge with conducting sensitivity training is that language evolves quickly, particularly in the disability community. To address that, the NCDJ created a style guide with dozens of commonly used terminology that reporters should avoid when describing people with disabilities. Rather than policing language, Gilger said, the point of the guide is to encourage reporters and editors to write about disability issues with more confidence.
“One of the biggest issues now is that people are afraid to report on this community because they don’t know the right language to use, or they’re worried their mistakes are going to affect somebody,” she said. “What we’re doing is trying to tell people, ‘Look, we want you to try because there is not enough coverage of disability.”
Language with racist roots A number of clichés in the English language are rooted in racist notions and “otherness.” Often, they twist a word taken from another culture to mean something unflattering. Some draw on the grotesque treatment of enslaved Africans; others misrepresent Indigenous traditions celebrated by tribes that suffered irreparable harm under western colonialism. And many will make you go, “Oh, yeah, that usage does look a little sketchy,” if you think about it long enough.
Here are some harmful sayings to avoid:
Many of us have uttered at least one of these sayings in our lifetime. Bringing attention to offensive language isn’t about scolding or shaming people; it’s about guiding them toward better practices. A good rule to consider: If you’re questioning whether a saying is insensitive, just go ahead and avoid it.
The cakewalk music derives from the “stride piano” style of playing (walking bass line as it is called). The prize for the best walk was... a cake.
Then entire development of minstrel shows into fully promote d ethnic (as they were called) productions which employed a lot of very talented descendants of slaves which became the true American music, including blues and jazz. Originating in the countryside, close to the land by people who worked on their own or sharecropped land. The list of performers fill many musicology publications. White and black minstrel shows evolving to Vaudeville into the jazz age. Inseperable- unlike what this chinese clueless person believes she knows- she probably knows even less Chinese heritage music (because the Communist Chinese suppress “lesser” people’s music within the vast expanse of land. This person imho is some kind of cultural maven re-educator type imported to remove culture for their coming State. Not gonna happen.
Here’s an example of a regional ethnic music that was (and still is) suppressed by Chinese Communists...for decades, and also when it was Manchukuo, by the Empire of Japan.
These people (rulers listening) are descended from Ghengis Khan (maybe that’s why the chinese suppress them— long memory).Musical people will note the melody of this tune, and key changes are pentatonic minor scales and alterations- fantastic throat singing. Think Mongolian pony cavalry-— grace in battle. The samisen like instrument player does a classic blues scale- surprise.
The Mother (praising motherhood) ,Song by Altai:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIRzTd_Rtqc
I am not so easily offended by this PC stuff. The Irish have never objected to Notre Dame being called the “Fighting Irish”, which implies that the Irish are naturally violent, or calling police wagons and vans used to incarcerate large numbers of people “paddy wagons”. Personally, I wish the news outlets would stop publishing headlines using “pushes back” for responds, or “claw back” to mean recover. The over use of phrasal verbs is very British, and some of us remember being taught to avoid them when we wrote as the mark of an educated person.
The author fits the stereotype of the arrogant university-grad commie.
Unless I trip over it.
LOL!
Great music.
Utterly fascinating! If I weren't paying attention, I might have mistaken that beautiful piece for some of the movie scores written by the Italian composer Ennio Morricone for the "spaghetti western" films. It's amazing to think that a people who ride horses could devise such similar music in two diverse spots in the world—the tempi are remarkably similar, and echo the steady rhythm of hoofbeats, while the melodies evoke the adventuresome freedom and daring of riding swiftly across a vast expanse on horseback.
I suppose, since these Mongolian musicians are living now, that they could have heard the western movie music and incorporated it. We may never know.
Ennio Morricone: Theme Song from The Good, The Bad and the Uglly
a more simpler reply is due ....
SHADDUP N MAKE ME A SANDWICH!
And I particularly dislike “claps back”. Who clapped first?
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