Can I take just a moment to brag on my students a bit? They are currently working on their internal proposals and external reports that are supposed to fix an issue on campus or in the surrounding community. I’m always amazed by what they come up with. This semester is no exception. I have a group focusing on healthier food options through a community garden, two groups trying to prevent/lower incidences of sexual assault on campus, and one group working to include more students with developmental disabilities on campus.
I leave that class so fulfilled and excited. They are thoughtful, critical, and overall just great students. But, one thing that interested (and scared me a little) was how some of them used language to topic about sexual assault or those in the IDD population. Sometimes it was cringe-worthy, but then I had to remember that I have had several years of training on using inclusive language, and I still make mistakes. But, this topic/issue couldn’t have come at a better time.
In one of my courses, we were talking about how style guides tend to lean more toward the xenophobic nature, and they are EXTREMELY slow to change and update to be more inclusive and use more, for lack of a better word, thoughtful language. I did some light digging, and I found this incredibly helpful site The Diversity Style Guide. It states that it was created to help media professionals write with accuracy and authority. It does this by providing incredibly helpful information such as glossaries about age/generation, disability, drugs and alcohol, immigration (which is incredibly relevant at the moment), LGBTQ, religion, etc.
Each of these glossaries give information about the subject. For example, in the relgion glossary, it discusses the difference between BC and BCE; to topics such as bible belt, yarmulke, to kufi. Each day there is a new tab that discusses a topic. Today was marriage, and below is what they posted:
Long story short, I feel like this source has a lot of untapped potential in the technical writing course, and it can help bridge a lack of understanding of other cultures and ideas and can create more inclusive writing.
You can check out the site here: http://www.diversitystyleguide.com
Katie Rieger, Portfolio 