1.3 Finding Your Lens: Language, Theory, and Equity

The Power of Words

When writing for DEI, it’s important to unpack the relationship between power, white supremacy, and language in education. This will help you better better understand how to approach the word choice and content of your textbook. Writing a textbook puts you in a unique position to publish educational materials that a diverse range of students or educators will use. Your perspectives will inevitably touch on the lived experiences of many students who will use this book during one of their courses. What impact do you want your textbook to leave in the classroom?

You’re writing on important topics like Sociology, Criminal Justice, and Human Development/Family Studies, and your textbook will have a direct influence on classroom learning and discussions: That’s a lot of power. As an author you have a choice: Do you want to use status quo language that may be marginalizing and non-inclusive? Or do you want to empower students to think critically by using terminology that is accurate and reflects the true histories of diverse identities and experiences?

When thinking about the the impact of your textbook’s wordchoice, you can use these 4 questions to guide your thought process:

• Are intersectional identities represented? (e.g. race/ethnicity, gender/gender expression, sexuality, religion, ability, and socioeconomic background – among many others)
• Is there an acknowledgment of social inequalities and power dynamics which have led to historically exclusive practices and structural inequities within higher education?
• Is there an introspective analysis of our society’s complicity in/perpetuation of social disparities?
• Does this theory challenge institutional norms and address ways to rectify social inequities? 

Language & Theory: What’s the Big Deal?

Historically, the system of higher education has been white-dominated and male-centric. People in positions of educational power historically ascribed words to identities and lived experiences that perpetuated stereotypes and degraded certain identities under the guise of academia. Words like ‘addict,’ ‘colored,’ ‘homosexual,’ and ‘illegal’ were once a regular part of the educational curriculum. Aside from being offensive and discriminatory, this kind of language has also had far-reaching political effects too.

Think about the last time you watched a controversial political speech or news debate and heard these words. It’s important to remember that the power of language goes beyond educational settings: they shape the way we are told to think about others, can reinforce implicit bias, and have harmful social effects when used by people in positions of power.

As an author, writing for DEI is about writing from a place of awareness: you’re taking a critical look at our society, engaging histories of oppression, and challenging students and educators to have real conversations about these social inequalities.

You may have seen recent articles in the media or debates on the news about language use in education, especially when it comes to topics like DEI or Critical Race Theory. You may have heard heated debates around these topics on the news, in your classrooms, or even in your day-to-day personal interactions.

Think about the last time you read an offensive news headline, overheard an insensitive slur being used in a conversation, or came across a derogatory term in one of your own textbooks. You may have been taken aback by the thoughtlessness of those words. You may have felt especially offended, frustrated, or demoralized if those words were referring to a part of your identity or lived experience. When you reflect on that moment, what comes up for you? Now take a moment to reflect on how students may feel every time they open up a textbook or enter a lecture where their community, identity, or lived experience are either omitted or described in derogatory ways.

In general, much of the pushback on these topics stems from resistance to interrogating histories of oppression and inequality in the United States. As you will learn later in the module, this is connected to white supremacy and the many ‘phobias’ and ‘isms’ that include racial, gender, and class-based inequality.

These are hot-button topics for a reason. Language has power, and the terms that we use when talking about race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and religion are rarely benign.

How do I find the ‘Right’ Words?

Language is a vehicle of expression, and the way we ascribe meaning to certain terms can either empower or disempower our students. One way we can begin to understand the importance of word choice in our textbooks is to think about power. In DEI, we talk a lot about power dynamics when it comes to topics like systems of oppression, privilege, white supremacy, and structural racism. But the common thread that weaves these topics together are the words that have been used to justify these systems and enforce the marginalization of certain groups.

It’s important to remember that language use isn’t about ‘political correctness.’ It’s about thinking critically and reflecting on how our word choice can either dismiss, degrade, or stereotype people. So what are the ‘right’ words to use when writing for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion? Unfortunately, there’s no simple answer to that question. It may be frustrating to realize that there is no ‘right’ word to use at any given time. DEI language frequently changes because our understanding of our individual and shared identities is always evolving.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t words that are completely offensive and wrong (think back to some of the examples listed under the Power of Words section). But there is more to word choice than simply finding the ‘right’ words: It’s about understanding the context you’re writing in and being willing to build context for your language as you author. Let’s go through a quick example to help you better understand. Take a look at these two textbook passages below. The first passage is from a textbook called ‘Mexican American Heritage,’ and the second is from a McGraw Hill World History textbook:

While you may not see any outright slurs in the above passages, the language and tone still use racial epithets that are derogatory and stereotypical. How? Think about what impression a student may get from these passages:

Passage 1 – Stereotypes: This passage is an example is an example of harmful language. The word choice perpetuates offensive stereotypes of Mexican culture as drunk, lazy, and irresponsible.

• Industrialists: The authors use the term ‘Industrialists’ and describe workers as quiet, obedient, and respectful.
• Mexican Laborers: The authors use ‘Mexican laborers’ as a contrast to the term ‘Industrialists’ and use language that insinuates they were lazy, drank too much, and weren’t as culturally acceptable as the (white) ‘industrialists.’

Passage 2 – Omission: This passage is an example of intentional language misuse – often called ‘whitewashing.’ Rather than writing “The Atlantic Slave Trade between the 1500s-1800s trafficked millions of enslaved African people to the southern United States to force them to work on agricultural plantations,” authors opt for ‘lighter’ terminology.

• Workers: The authors use the term ‘workers’ to describe people who were kidnapped, trafficked, and enslaved in the United States. Using a term like ‘workers’ versus ‘people who were enslaved’ minimizes the atrocities of slavery and the history of African-American Exploitation.
• Whitewashing: This passage privileges the comfort of white-centered history. By omitting ‘heavier’ and more accurate word choices, authors remain in their comfort zone and do not have to do the work of unpacking histories of racism and violence against enslaved African people in the United States.

Tackling Theory: Where Do I Start? 

To start, social theories are frameworks used in social science and humanities disciplines to analyze, explain, and understand social structures, power dynamics, and cultural norms. There are many social theories to choose from, but we’ll focus on two that are the backbone of your equity lens: Critical Race Theory and Intersectionality.

We’ve spent this past section talking about the power of words and the legacy of harmful language in education. As an author, you have a responsibility to strike a balance between accurate terminology and inclusive language. That can be tough, especially when many of the terminologies used in the past are offensive and derogatory. You may be wondering how to practically apply these skills to your textbook. One way to both inform your mindset and the content of your textbook is to use social theory (Seidman 2016). Remember, the language and word choice of your textbook is important –  but if you are in the mindset of an antiracist and intersectional writer, the language will follow.

Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Intersectionality are contemporary social theories that highlight how power structures in the United States privilege and disadvantage people in our society. CRT was developed by Derrick Bell, Kimberlé Crenshaw, and Richard Delgado. As scholars in the legal field, Bell, Crenshaw, and Delgado sought to underscore the role of race and racism embedded in the political, social, and economic structures of the United States. Since the 1970s, CRT has been critical in shaping the framework and has played a significant role in academic scholarship about race, racism, and racial inequality. What makes CRT unique is its emphasis on both theory and practice:

“Crenshaw—who coined the term “CRT”—notes that CRT is not a noun, but a verb. It cannot be confined to a static and narrow definition but is considered to be an evolving and malleable practice. It critiques how the social construction of race and institutionalized racism perpetuate a racial caste system that relegates people of color to the bottom tiers. CRT also recognizes that race intersects with other identities, including sexuality, gender identity, and others. CRT recognizes that racism is not a bygone relic of the past. Instead, it acknowledges that the legacy of slavery, segregation, and the imposition of second-class citizenship on Black Americans and other people of color continue to permeate the social fabric of this nation” (ABA 2021). 

If the concept of an equity lens feels abstract to you, think about CRT as one way to concretely apply that lens to your textbook and guide your practical work as a writer/educator. CRT is one of many ways to approach discussions about power, structural inequality, and social change. While CRT emphasizes race, your textbook will undoubtedly include topics related to gender, sexuality, religion, disability, and more. This is where intersectionality becomes important.

Intersectionality was first coined in 1989 by legal scholar and civil rights advocate, Kimberlé Crenshaw. Crenshaw originally used the term in a paper for the University of Chicago Legal Forum which emphasized the compounding marginalization faced by African American Women in education. Crenshaw highlighted the importance of centering the experience of African American women at the intersection of both racism and sexism (hence the term: intersectionality). Though intersectionality started as a legal theory, over three decades later, scholars have applied Crenshaw’s theory of intersectionality to a range of issues like gender, class, and disability.

While intersectionality is a crucial component of your equity lens, it’s important to note that it’s not a “grand theory of everything” (Crenshaw 2017). Intersectionality is your starting point for understanding why equity is important: we all hold multiple identities, and each of those identities can contribute to unique, varying experiences of inequality and oppression.

One theory doesn’t fit all, but you should consider CRT and intersectionality as a starting point to help you expand the anti-oppressive and antiracist frameworks you use in your writing. As you learn to apply an equity lens to your textbook content, remember that this is all a part of the bigger picture of DEI.

As you watch Crenshaw’s TED Talk on intersectionality (below), take a moment to reflect on the different identities that you hold. Think about the identities that are more visible, versus the identities that people may not be able to see just by looking at you. How has this affected your experiences in education, at the workplace, or even in your daily interactions? How do you think an understanding of both intersectionality and CRT can enhance the content of your textbook?

Figure 1.4. Kimberlé Crenshaw’s TED Talk is about the urgency of intersectionality.

References

George, J. (2021). A lesson on critical race theory.  American Bar Association (ABA).

McGraw Hill. (n.d.). World Geography.

News from Columbia Law School. (2017). Crenshaw on intersectionality, more than two decades later.

NAACP Legal Defence and Educational Fund. (2023). What is critical race theory?

Riddle, J., Angle, V. (2017). Mexican American Heritage. Momentum Instruction, LLC.

University of Washington Department of Epidemiology Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee. (2019). Glossary of equity, diversity, and
inclusion terms.

Crenshaw, Kimberlé. (1989). Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex: A black feminist critique of antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory and antiracist politics. University of Chicago Legal Forum: Vol. 1989: Iss. 1, Article 8.