The sensitivity around words exhausts me. Should I push back?
In this week’s Brand Ethicist, a communication expert in the education space is stuck in the Word Wars. Should she resist?
"I am a seasoned communications expert with decades of experience in the education space in the US. Our sector has become increasingly caught in the culture wars. This particularly impacts the language we use (or don’t use) in our communications.
I consider myself socially progressive and I’ve managed to educate myself on issues that are important to our students like gender and systemic racism. We hired a gender and diversity consultant to make our language more inclusive. But the pace and volume of change often is simply too fast. And to be honest, I feel like it is being taken too far. Every week there is a word that I’m no longer allowed to use, according to my colleagues. The hypersensitivity around it is too much to handle. My younger colleagues constantly roll their eyes at me.
It feels like I’m surrounded by the woke police and it’s making me angry. Should I push back?"
You are dealing with rapid social change at the same time as massive shifts in your profession. That takes a lot out of a person, at any age. So first of all, my hat off to you.
Alas, I can’t solve the culture wars for you. I’m way out of my depth there.
It might seem like a new thing that young people are making the rules, but it's been going on for a while.
I'm guessing by the use of the word 'seasoned' you mean you have more than twenty-five years of work under your belt. That would mean that when you were in your twenties, the counterculture of the sixties and seventies had already seeped into our societal fabric. You were probably fluent in what was then considered progressive language without making an effort. You probably grew up hating ‘The Man’. You were the young person who had the wind in your back.
Fast forward to 2024, and now you are ‘The Man’ yourself. A new generation has overtaken you on the left while you are busy with life and work.
You are the established authority that a younger generation is rebelling against. Eye rolling is believed to be how people with less power (often: the young) communicate their resistance to people in power (often: the old).
There is a choice before you.
You can become the stick-in-the-mud of the comms department, or you could see this as an opportunity for professional and personal growth.
You got this far in your career. You survived the coming of the internet and social media. Why stop now?
You say that gender and systemic racism are important to your students. That implies that they are not important to you. It sounds like these issues feel distant - as if it is their generation’s fight, not yours.
Have you possibly been worn down by work, the realities of life, or the state of the world? Have you disconnected from your younger ideals?
As we age, we should care more about the world we leave behind for others, not less. Perhaps the key lies in re-connecting with your audience - the students.
Gen Z has a right to be pissed.
They are living in the age of Global Boiling.
They want clean, smoke-free air to breathe.
They don’t want to be closeted or abused for their gender or sexual preferences.
And yes they want all of those things while enjoying a $7 Mocha Frappuccino.
Is that such a bad thing? They got a rotten deal and they want a say in their future. We should look at that with compassion, not with contempt.
I get that it feels like the pendulum has swung a bit too far sometimes. I roll my eyes when people use the word 'trauma' to describe how they feel when they read a text they disagree with.
But to create progress, boundaries have to be pushed.
Dr. Martin Luther King was rightfully concerned about the (white) moderate. We always have to keep asking ourselves if we ourselves are the moderates who care more about keeping order than we do about progress.
The idea that your words are being policed is not just born from your own brain. Right-wing media on both sides of the pond are pushing hard to make you feel that way.
The proposed changes to our vocabulary can in some cases feel like word games.
But many are deeply significant. For example, the shift from the term ‘slave’ to ‘enslaved’ represents a massive shift in how we think about slavery. It took us a while to get there and start using this different word.
Today, I can’t imagine it ever was any other way.
Language is fluid, and as society changes, our words will continue to change.
Someone wakes me up to a new bias every day. Brand strategist N. Chloé Nwangwu for instance, points out that not so long ago, we called people of color ‘non-whites’. And that the term ‘under-represented’ is factually incorrect.
She’s teaching, and I am listening.
Don’t get me wrong.
I’m not saying you need to adopt every single change in the cultural lexicon immediately. Speaking like a 20-year-old will make you look like the old uncle who thinks he can still hang ‘with the youngsters’. You could see which new words have enough weight and staying power to incorporate.
In the meantime, hand the microphone to colleagues and students of different beliefs. Let them share their own stories in their own words.
Some introspection on your organization’s side - about your educational beliefs and purpose - will help you understand where you and your audience’s values meet. Open those conversations up to a bigger group, so different voices are heard.
I would also (re-)invest in mapping out, through one-on-one interviews and group discussions, what is important to your students.
This exercise is not just for you, but also for your younger colleagues. They probably assume they know what 18-22 year olds think. But in my experience working for youth brands, a 19-year-old and a 29-year-old are worlds apart. Assuming that you know exactly what your audience thinks is the death of any communications professional. Coach them to test their assumptions too.
I hope you find joy in reconnecting to the world of your students.
If there is one thing this generation cares about, it’s authenticity.
You could be the Jane Fonda on campus. Embrace it. Good luck!
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