This month’s Conscious Language Newsletter is out! The most popular articles so far:

#1: Physicians Are Not Providers: The Ethical Significance of Names in Health Care: A Policy Paper From the American College of Physicians

www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/...

The Conscious Language Newsletter: January 2026 What language do people in larger bodies actually prefer?

My #ConsciousLanguage Newsletter is out! The most popular articles so far:

• We’re Talking About AI All Wrong. Here’s How We Can Fix the Narrative
• Words Matter, Including “Fat,” “Obese,” “Curvy,” and “Heavy”
• Why “Biological Sex” May Not Mean What You Think

Follow 👉 @consciousstyleguide.com

Book cover of the collection entitled "Gender-inclusive language: Findings from 14 languages and open research questions", edited by Falco Pfalzgraf.

💡Learn about the use of gender-inclusive language across 14 European languages in this new book edited by Falco Pfalzgraf: www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783111701608/html#overview

@lhekanaho.bsky.social @sofialampro.bsky.social @genderedform.bsky.social @michael-hornsby.bsky.social

Why “biological sex” may not mean what you think There are many terms to refer to a person’s sex: sex, birth sex, natal sex — and more contentiously, assigned sex at birth and biological sex.

What does "biological sex" mean? Tips from the Trans Journalists Association on being clear, specific, and accurate.

#ConsciousLanguage

Generative AI hype distracts us from AI’s more important breakthroughs It's a seductive distraction from the advances in AI that are most likely to improve or even save your life

🫣 Generative AI
😍 Predictive AI

A square version of the book cover, which is navy blue, with the handwritten word Conscious inserted via a red caret into the title, which reads The Conscious Style Guide: A Flexible Approach to Language That Includes, Respects, and Empowers.

Need a last-minute gift for the writers, editors, teachers, or college students in your life? Give them the #ConsciousStyleGuide audiobook—a friendly guide to language that promotes equity!

🎁 Buy from Libro.fm: libro.fm/audiobooks/9...

🦋 Follow CSG on Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/cons...

🥁🥁🥁 This month’s Conscious Language Newsletter is out, and the top three articles are…

#1: Why Can’t Lawyers and Judges Just Say What They Mean?

“Whatever you can do to explain our process, no matter how obvious it may seem to us, will help lessen the gap between your journalism and the public.”

Follow @trustingnews.bsky.social for more tips.

Why can’t lawyers and judges just say what they mean? Eschewing unnecessary obfuscation (like this!) in juridical discourse in favour of plain language is one of the cheapest and most effective ways to improve access to justice

“It turns out that using plain language to ensure everyone in society can find and understand the laws, rules and judicial decisions that affect them is one of the cheapest and most effective ways to improve access to justice.”

#PlainLanguage #Justice #Podcast

IJA releases Indigenous Identity reporting guide – IJA

The “Indigenous Identity Reporting Guide,” by the Indigenous Journalists Association, is a living document that offers tips and strategies for approaching the topic of Indigenous identity fraud.

✔️ Download: indigenousjournalists.org/wp-content/u...

Follow @indigenousja.bsky.social for more.

Examining the euphemisms and abbreviations related to gender-based violence. “If the truth makes you uncomfortable, ask whether the discomfort comes from the language, or the underlying reality.”

#GBV #ConsciousLanguage #QuoteThisWoman

Language Wars Conversations about language were supposed to be a starting point rather than an ending one.

“The discussion about the words we use took a troubling turn: Instead of being an opportunity to engage deeply with harmful attitudes, people—predominantly white people—are instead focusing on the superficial use of words themselves.”

By @sesmith.lol for Bitch Media, repub by @theflytrapmedia.com.

Text reads: The Loft, Jan 20 through Feb 24, 2026, Gender Is Our Playground: Toward Inclusive, Informed, Joyful Storytelling, Online, with Eliot West, loft.org/classes. Image of pencil and pen.

Heyyyy writers, join me to explore gender as a craft tool at a sliding scale rate (down to $0 if that's what you need to access it)--it'll be fun! Online, Tues evenings Jan–Feb, details at loft.org/classes/gend...

Absolutely thrilled to see “The Conscious Style Guide” in Right Touch Editing’s holiday 🎁 guide. Thank you, @imaginedworlds.bsky.social, for shining a light on my work.

#Edibuddies #AmReading #AmEditing #WritingCommunity #GiftGuide @consciousstyleguide.com 🎄

Journalists finally take state-sanctioned trolling seriously "Trolling was tricky enough to deal with when it existed around the edges of policy. Now it <em>is</em> policy."

“Identifying the game being played and calling it out, so that audiences can understand why things are being said and not just that they are said, is critical to covering state-sanctioned trolling ethically and effectively.” —@whitneyphillips.bsky.social

@niemanlab.org #PredictionsForJournalism2026

It’s political, not medical: Rethinking coverage of political leaders’ health By Abby Youran Qin When John Fetterman returned to the Pennsylvania Senate race after his stroke in 2022, his first televised debate became a national media moment. On stage, he addressed his recovery...

“Coverage that treats mobility devices, speech patterns or age as symbols of decline reinforces stigma, whereas coverage that focuses on how decisions are made and how institutions adapt provides useful information.” @uwethics.bsky.social

#Media #Journalism #Politics

Trans Day of Remembrance: Language and Representation Matters - The Editors' Weekly Zanne Klingenberg reflects on the Transgender Day of Remembrance and the impacts editors can have on gender-inclusive editing.

“Advocate for gender-neutral or gender-free language in the texts you work on.” @editorscanada.bsky.social

Thanks for giving our free gender/sex #consciousLanguage resources a shout-out, Zanne Klingenberg!

#TransDayOfRemembrance #RepresentationMatters #ConsciousStyle

Florida nonprofit news reporters ask board to investigate their editor’s AI use Suncoast Searchlight’s four reporters told the board their editor-in-chief was using AI editing tools and inserting hallucinations into drafts. The next day, one of the reporters was fired.

Editor-in-chief used AI editing tools to insert hallucinations into stories without fact-checking or disclosure, reports @niemanlab.org. #WCGW

#AmReading #GenAI #AI #Journalism

This month’s #ConsciousLanguage Newsletter is out! The most popular articles so far…

#1: Travel Expert Who’s Visited 70 Countries Shares 7 Phrases Americans Should Never Say Abroad

Plain Language Resistance: Is “Plain” the Problem? - The Editors' Weekly Tracey Anderson discusses the resistance from some to the term plain language, and asks if "plain" is the problem.

“The problem, I think, lies not in what plain language is but in what some writers mistakenly believe it is.”

@editorscanada.bsky.social

#PlainLanguage #ConsciousLanguage

Screenshot of 4 paragraphs. The first and 2nd-to-last sentences are highlighted in yellow. "First, we must train doctors to be consistently excellent at empathic communication. This cannot be a brief module in medical school. It needs to be central to healthcare education. Since AI already matches humans in many technical skills, this should free doctors to focus on genuine human connection. "Second, redesign healthcare systems to protect the conditions necessary for empathy. Dramatically reduce administrative burden through better technology (ironically, AI could help here), ensure adequate consultation time, and address burnout through systemic change rather than resilience training. "Third, rigorously measure both benefits and harms of AI in healthcare interactions. We need research on actual patient outcomes, missed diagnoses, inappropriate advice, and long-term effects on the therapeutic relationship – not just whether responses sound empathic to raters. "The empathy crisis in healthcare isn’t caused by insufficient technology. It’s caused by systems that prevent humans from being human. AI appearing more empathic than doctors is a symptom, not the disease."

Generative AI is beating doctors at empathy, but why?

Read: theconversation.com/ai-is-beatin...

#GenAI #Healthcare @theconversation.com

Jason Momoa worked with a coach to speak Hawaiian authentically in 'Chief of War' Jason Momoa prepared for his role in “Chief of War” with a personal language coach who lived with him for nearly a year. The Apple TV series premiered in August.

“The final product…isn’t perfect, [Kahoʻokahi Kanuha] and other Hawaiian language experts say, but it’s a successful global-scale contribution to revitalizing and normalizing a language that has endured erasure attempts amid colonization.” @apnews.com

#Hawaiian #ChiefOfWar #AppleTV

Screenshot of 4 paragraphs. The first and 2nd-to-last sentences are highlighted in yellow. "First, we must train doctors to be consistently excellent at empathic communication. This cannot be a brief module in medical school. It needs to be central to healthcare education. Since AI already matches humans in many technical skills, this should free doctors to focus on genuine human connection. "Second, redesign healthcare systems to protect the conditions necessary for empathy. Dramatically reduce administrative burden through better technology (ironically, AI could help here), ensure adequate consultation time, and address burnout through systemic change rather than resilience training. "Third, rigorously measure both benefits and harms of AI in healthcare interactions. We need research on actual patient outcomes, missed diagnoses, inappropriate advice, and long-term effects on the therapeutic relationship – not just whether responses sound empathic to raters. "The empathy crisis in healthcare isn’t caused by insufficient technology. It’s caused by systems that prevent humans from being human. AI appearing more empathic than doctors is a symptom, not the disease."

Generative AI is beating doctors at empathy, but why?

Read: theconversation.com/ai-is-beatin...

#GenAI #Healthcare @theconversation.com

Stop Calling Us “Nonprofit”: It’s Time for a New Name for the $1.4-Trillion Engine of Progress Jody Levison-Johnson of Social Current thinks it’s time to ditch the term "nonprofit" — and the funder mindsets that go along with it.

Is it time to replace the term #nonprofit? “We are not a ‘non’ anything. We are builders of jobs, innovators in care, stewards of families and communities, and an essential part of the nation’s economic infrastructure.” (@insidephilanthropy.com)

#Nationbuilding #Nonprofits #ConsciousLanguage

60,000 cisgender women write powerful open letter in support of trans community “Not in our Name” is the title of a collective of cisgender women who have written an open letter calling out the media and politicians for promoting anti-trans rhetoric.

“Stop scapegoating minorities and put the focus back on the things that are really harming women.”—Member of the #NotInOurName collective (@pinknews.bsky.social)

#TransAwarenessWeek @nionwomen.bsky.social 🏳️‍⚧️

60,000 cisgender women write powerful open letter in support of trans community “Not in our Name” is the title of a collective of cisgender women who have written an open letter calling out the media and politicians for promoting anti-trans rhetoric.

“Stop scapegoating minorities and put the focus back on the things that are really harming women.”—Member of the #NotInOurName collective (@pinknews.bsky.social)

#TransAwarenessWeek @nionwomen.bsky.social 🏳️‍⚧️

African Publishers Battle ‘Wakanda Problem’ as Market Grows Africa's 54 countries often get flattened into one imaginary place, but now publishers across the continent are fighting back by building literary bridges across the continent, prioritizing local read...

“As African book publishers build a literary ecosystem of their own, they say they’re fighting a stubborn perception problem, with too many international publishers treating the continent’s 54 countries as one homogenous entity.” @publisherswkly.bsky.social

#African #Publishing #Audiobooks

These words are centered on a goldenrod background in black and red text. Below is the golden head of a tiger. The left and right sides are bordered with tight curly lines that intersect in little hearts.

“Storytelling can be more than a blog post, essay, or book. It can be an emoji, a meme, a selfie, or a tweet. It can become a movement for social change.”

—Alice Wong (1974–2025)

How to Show Up for Your Newly Unemployed Colleagues Kill the empty platitudes and offer your former coworkers some serviceable empathy.

“You don’t need a motivational speech. A simple, ‘That’s awful, I’m really sorry you’re dealing with that,’ can mean a lot.” Tips from The Only Black Guy in the Office.

#ConsciousLanguage #Unemployment

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