I don’t want to say the wrong thing…
We understand that a lot of you struggle with the fear of using the wrong words, old terms, or problematic language. This fear spreads across your organizational messaging, your personal LinkedIn and Instagram pages, even your emails to us.
So we’re here to help you. Below you will find a list of 22,000 QuakeLab approved DEI words and phrases. We will be updating this list every hour on the hour as new information is learned. We strongly recommend taking 3-6 weeks dedicated time a year to get updated.
Ok… so we won’t actually be doing any of that.
We get it, in the world of the fast moving internet, it can feel stressful to hit ‘publish’ on anything that doesn’t feel like it’s been vetted 3 times over to ensure it doesn’t do harm to anyone, especially marginalized folks who are often fielding violence from every direction. We know this fear isn’t just a matter of ‘looking woke’ or performative, but genuine concern about causing harm.
Here’s the thing: language is ever evolving, changing and shifting. There have been so many different reasons certain harmful language has been allowed to take center stage in public discourse for decades, including but not limited to:
Media makers and agenda setters have been made up of the most privileged who have had little to no care about marginalized communities;
Terms have evolved within communities, and those outside these communities have either been unaware of these changes, or have resisted (eg. the move from coloured to Black in North America);
White supremacist, racist, ableist, transphobic groups and individuals have had free reign to create platforms and communities online where they have set standards for language. In the broken telephone way of the internet, this language has shown up in mainstream spaces without critical analysis of their source.
So with these reasons in mind, it makes sense that a person’s first step in moving towards equity is ensuring their language is on point. However the challenge with this, is the fear of ‘being bad’, ‘canceled’ or ‘called out/in’ becomes the excuse to do nothing at all.
Author, speaker and founder of Brevity & Wit, Minal Bopaiah recently discussed her decisions to be acronym agnostic, arguing that words matter, but so does context. Industries, communities, activists will always have dynamic and sometimes contradictory conversations about the right language and acronyms to use, however they are also responsible to ensure these discussions don’t eliminate important work that needs to be done to alleviate and eliminate the oppression marginalized people face.
Being in community with each other means leaving room for mistakes, it means calling each other in when harm has been done, and it means having the humility to accept continuous learning. So here’s how we recommend navigating the fear of language and terminology.
Don’t opt out of learning - All of the above doesn’t absolve you of the responsibility to not cause harm as an individual and as an institution. Follow, support and listen to communities who are doing the work of unpacking language and justice. This includes subscribing to newsletters, Patreons, and platforms for disability justice organizations, trans, Indigenous, Racialized, educators, etc. Ensure that you are compensating these educators in the ways they have made available (paying subscription fees, engaging with their content, etc.) This is not an opportunity to demand information from them. It is also a passive way to consistently keep abreast of new information eg. the discussion around person first (a person with autism) vs identity first (autistic person) language.
Get specific - Once again, the first point is a passive method, and must be accompanied by active work. This includes being specific about what information you need, about how, and for what context. For instance, if you’re writing communications material for your organization about a new Black History Month initiative the organization is launching, take a good amount of time to do the research about the appropriate ways to talk about Black History Month, Black people in your community/country, etc.
Get comfortable with being corrected - To be clear, if you use the wrong language or terminology, there is a chance someone may correct you and it may or not be ‘nice’ or gentle. Marginalized folks do not owe you gentle correction. Marginalized people have written books, blogs, recorded documentaries, Instagram reels, TikToks and everything under the sun to share how to communicate with them and about them in equitable and inclusive ways. So, if you happen to be corrected with sharpness, it’s important you don’t center any hurt feelings or ego. Apologize, course correct and move forward.
Avoid trying to bring someone in to teach you everything there is to know - This is complicated because we are big advocates of paying marginalized people and organizations to support equity work you’re doing. However, like any industry, DEI demand drives supply, so when every paying customer and institution doesn’t want to do any impactful DEI work, but only wants a 3 hour session on acronyms or small contracts to review press releases or statements - that’s where practitioners will find and seek work. We encourage working with practitioners long term and on impactful, measurable projects (see our blog on What to consider when selecting DEI consultant), this work can include support on researching, tweaking and knowledge sharing around language, but it shouldn’t be the only work being done.
There is immense privilege in the ability to close your eyes, put your hands over your ears, and claim: I can’t because I’m scared. While we cower in fear of mis-stepping, the world does not become any better. In fact, one can argue that inaction out of fear is just as dangerous as oppressive action. So lean into the fear, step into this work with humility, prepare to do some research and real work (not just reflecting, listening and learning). You’ll be ok, promise!
We’re more than happy to do some long term work with you and your organization through auditing, becoming your in-house DEI team and more, just shoot us a message, we’d love to chat! If you’re not quite ready to engage a team with bespoke consulting - we’ve got some tools and resources for you to use as you get to this important work.