Great write up, this highlights how powerful the way we use language can be, and why it’s important to consider the words and vocabulary we choose.
The way we use language affects the way we think, it reframes topics and normalizes ideas.
Patriarchal expressions are what we call “loaded”, similar to how calling an immigrant “alien” strips them of their humanity, or using the terms “blacklist” and “whitelist” reinforces “white good, black bad”.
Loaded language can be used accidentally, or strategically to convey a particular emotion, and language can equally be unloaded, such as in the case of “letting go” instead of “firing”, or “passed away” instead of “died”, it distances the concept from the underlying emotion.
I’d just like to step on the soapbox for one quick, tangential message. Considering the power vocabulary has to influence perception, I’d advise against using the terms “elite” and" elitist," in regards to the wealthy and their habits.
From their perspective, such phrasing validates their status above the rest of us and casually implies that we agree that we’re inferior to them. Consider a more apt term for describing them, like “the parasite class,” “the 1%,” or “guillotine-fodder.”
Great write up, this highlights how powerful the way we use language can be, and why it’s important to consider the words and vocabulary we choose.
The way we use language affects the way we think, it reframes topics and normalizes ideas.
Patriarchal expressions are what we call “loaded”, similar to how calling an immigrant “alien” strips them of their humanity, or using the terms “blacklist” and “whitelist” reinforces “white good, black bad”.
Loaded language can be used accidentally, or strategically to convey a particular emotion, and language can equally be unloaded, such as in the case of “letting go” instead of “firing”, or “passed away” instead of “died”, it distances the concept from the underlying emotion.
I’d just like to step on the soapbox for one quick, tangential message. Considering the power vocabulary has to influence perception, I’d advise against using the terms “elite” and" elitist," in regards to the wealthy and their habits.
From their perspective, such phrasing validates their status above the rest of us and casually implies that we agree that we’re inferior to them. Consider a more apt term for describing them, like “the parasite class,” “the 1%,” or “guillotine-fodder.”