Sensitivity Readers
A Thread
—————————

Dear #WritingCommunity,

To say the lived experience of a singular sensitivity reader has no value because they cannot perfectly represent EVERY member of their marginalized community is . . . harsh to say the least.

This is a twisting of an important assertion made by marginalized creatives that “My culture is not a monolith.” We don’t say this to lessen ourselves. We say this in hopes you will see us, really SEE us as the nuanced individuals we are.

So when we see writers on social media basically saying “Since no one can do a perfect job of making my story 100% inoffensive, I’m gonna do what I want,” we flinch. And we sigh. Because oh, dear ones, don’t you know that was never supposed to be the point?

The notion that sensitivity readers have risen up to sanitize stories, to strip them of all potentially offensive content is deeply flawed. We aren’t here to help you create perfect stories. We’re here to help you develop better ones.

To expect us to root out every speck of internalized bias in a work in order to demonstrate our value is to expect a level of perfection that is beyond punitive. Please, be wary of making statements that amount to saying “You must help me ALL the way or you are useless to me.”

That’s the kind of bias we’re working against. The kind that says we constantly have to be proving ourselves worthy of inclusion.

Can we all just stop demanding perfection of each other and aim for striving instead? Can we see the attempt and praise it even as we acknowledge there’s room for growth?

Human beings are works in progress the same way our stories are. Let’s try to see each other that way.