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It's a common perception that the job of an editor is to uphold "correct" language—whether in spelling, in grammar, or in word choices related to identity, power, and oppression. But language isn't correct or incorrect, it's contextual. If you want to respect all identities but worry about keeping up with an ever-changing list of "good" and "bad" words, or if you feel obligated to make text bland or vague in order to avoid causing offense, it's time for a new approach rooted in context and care.
This 90-minute webinar will provide frameworks for orienting toward care and equity in language, engaging with the power of words to harm or heal, oppress or liberate. We'll cover how unquestioned language can perpetuate oppression, and provide concrete tips for countering harm and practicing liberation via our editing.
If you have felt anxious about conscious language, this webinar will give you more confidence. If you have depended on lists of rules related to identity-based language, you'll broaden your toolkit and your ability to edit with care, compassion, and nuance. Words have power, and editors do too. Learn to use that power fearlessly for the good of all.
Alex Kapitan (no pronouns) has made a career out of helping people align their words with their values. Founder of the language project Radical Copyeditor and co-leader of the trans-led Transforming Hearts Collective, Alex draws on two decades of experience in the publishing field and in national-level activism and community organizing to support editors, writers, educators, cultural workers, healthcare providers, media makers, and many others in understanding and utilizing the power of language to counter oppression and create positive change in the world. Alex is sought out as a speaker, trainer, and consultant and has worked with companies as diverse as Netflix; Getty; Farrar, Straus and Giroux; Kirkus; Center for American Progress; Editors Canada; Pearson; the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; and the Nature Conservancy.
This webinar originally aired on March 13, 2025.
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