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#ConsciousLanguage thoughts of the day: Certain biased language shows up often in YA novels: words like crazy, insane, and lame, phrases like “Hey, guys” referring to mixed-gender groups.
One argument some YA authors and editors make for retaining this language is “This is how teens talk.”
I have two issues with this stance.
I have two issues with this stance.
First, *do* all teens talk this way? Gen Z is a socially conscious generation. Many teens today care deeply about social issues that I, a millennial, wouldn’t have been arsed about when I was a navel-gazing 16-year-old. It’s awesome and it’s admirable.
Here’s a concrete example of how teens’ social consciousness and open-mindedness show up their language: 35% of Gen Zers know someone who uses nonbinary pronouns.
Source: https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2019/01/17/generation-z-looks-a-lot-like-millennials-on-key-social-and-political-issues/
Source: https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2019/01/17/generation-z-looks-a-lot-like-millennials-on-key-social-and-political-issues/
So, while older generations are clutching their pearls about the singular “they,” or demanding that enby pronouns be “explained” in a text, teens are using these pronouns in their daily lives to refer to themselves and their peers. They don’t need pronouns explained to them.
You have to think that these same kids see the value of using gender-neutral language in various contexts. At least *some* teens are going to see “Hey, guys!” in a book and think, “This wording isn’t gender-inclusive. My friends and I would never say this.”
The point is, authors and editors of YA: Just because conscious, inclusive language may seem unrealistic or unfamiliar to you doesn’t necessarily mean it’s unrealistic or unfamiliar to the audience you write and edit for.
Second, let’s admit that many teens—and adults too—do use ableist words like crazy, insane, and lame in their everyday speech.
Ask yourself: Why do people use these words?
Is it maybe *partly* because these words show up in all types of media, including...books?
Ask yourself: Why do people use these words?
Is it maybe *partly* because these words show up in all types of media, including...books?
I believe that authors and editors have a responsibility to help shape language for the better. Sure, we do hear “That’s so lame” in real life. But publishing that phrase—w/o addressing the issue with it—perpetuates its use. You’re telling young readers that it’s OK to say it.
In my opinion, when writing or editing YA fiction, being faithful to “how teens actually talk” is not as important as our responsibility as writers and editors to push language toward greater inclusivity.
And to be clear, I believe it’s totally possible to write authentic teen voices without using harmful language. It’s not an either/or. Your writing can be conscious and also be real. It just might take a little more thought, a little more care.
To me, that’s what conscious language is fundamentally about: Thinking. Caring.
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