Section 6.2 Inclusive Language
This section is a thorough rebuttal of the childhood idiom “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” Here you can learn how words are connected to existing and previous power structures within and beyond academia and why it is important to consider your choice of language, especially as you write about individuals’ complex, intersectional identities and the relationships those identities have to the many different systems and personal interactions that comprise society. As you will read many times over again, this section is an introduction to the ever-changing task of writing respectfully and knowledgeably about identity, not the be-all and end-all of writing with awareness.
