PACSCLExamples of terms not found in any #findingaid audited? "Trans," "illegals," or "codger." Indicative of the age of the collection? The cataloger? Institutional biases? The #harmfullanguage audit posed almost as many questions as it answered. #reparativedescription
"Colored," which occurred 3664 times, refers not only to people, but prints, slides, drawings, etc. An example of how critical #reparativedescription is given the context of a collection. #harmfullanguage
Words of aggrandizement - "important," "wealthy," "genius" - occurred 16050 times. And that doesn't count recent usage on X, just the finding aids. #harmfullanguage #reparativedescription
The word "negro" occurs 3585 times, as in "Hans Albrecht's visit to the US in 1926...sections of the report include topics such as, "factory farms and workers questions"...& "the negro problem."" https://findingaids.library.upenn.edu/records/HAVERFORD_HC.MC.975.07.003 #harmfullanguage #reparativedescription
Continuing gendered invisibility, here are other terms/frequencies: Wife/7658, Daughter/5863, Sister/4831, Miss/4202. Signed JL's wife, Wayne's daughter, T&T's sister, Miss Behaving. #HarmfulLanguage #ReparativeDescription
Tickled pink to host Faith Charlton, @cccamac, Sam Sfirri, & @coupiousbetts for the 10/8 virtual program, Implementing a Harmful Language Audit, reflecting on the impact of PACSCL's 2023 #harmfullanguage audit. To register: https://loom.ly/B6ihmMw
Susan Larson ♀️🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️🌈The phrases 'identify' or 'identify as' wrongly imply that a deliberate choice was made by LGBTQ people to become LGBTQ.
#SexualOrientation and our #Gender (#GenderIdentity) are #innate #characteristics, not #choices.
It's time to move past this #HarmfulLanguage!
We are who we say we are, and deserve to be #respected and #affirmed for having the #courage to be our #TrueSelves."