Equal(ity) but different: How word choice leads to a better world
The Clime — Issue No. 04...or is it 05?
Your words create our world.
That just came to me, and I don't think I could get it any simpler than that.
What's on my mind is this: words have power. We get that. So it makes it all the more important to be careful about the words we choose.
So, what do I mean by that?
Parity through persnicketiness
This morning, I was studying for my LEED Green Associate exam. (That merits, another blog post entirely.)
As I'm doing so, I read the phrase "man-made" to describe the built environment.
We understand what “man-made” means.
It didn't trip me up.
I kept reading.
But a few seconds later, a new phrase came to mind…"human-hewn”
Now that is trippy, ain't it?
Equal(ity) but different
I think as writers in particular, moments like this happen with some frequency: you're just reading along and something is scribbled in across your frontal lobe with an urgency that surprises you.
I swear I wasn't actively thinking about the phrase "man-made."
Honestly, I was just trying to get in 15 minutes of exam prep before I jumped into my workday.
But out of the blue comes the phrase "human-hewn" as if to say “Hey, so umm…what do you think about thiiiiis?”
And frankly, I love it. Here's why…
Inclusive interjection in my mind
It's inclusive. And it mirrors how we’ve shifted from “mankind” to "humankind.”
It's different. As writers we write words. Thankfully, in English, there are tins of thousands of them to choose from. Frankly, if you don't choose new ones, it gets boring. And if it gets boring, you lose your reader. And if you lose your reader that which needed to be conveyed is not conveyed. So choose unusual words, because difference drives engagement.
It's trippy. Literally — mentally at least — it trips your reader up because it is different. But it makes them think. And when we make our readers think, we keep them reading. And that is our number one job as writers.
This is just one example. And it came to me versus me trying to figure out a better, more inclusive term.
But I'm gonna start using it.
I suppose I'll get some quizzical looks. But that's partially the point isn't it? To get people to think.
Where does it come from?
I mentioned that I was not actively thinking when the words came to me. So I suppose one possibility is that they came from my subconscious. Or maybe my past experiences? Or maybe what's important to me? Or all of the above?
I mean, I have done some significant work in the past wi parity related programs like EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women™ as well as EY’s Women. Fast forward. And I’ve worked with the Asian Development Bank Institute, specifically content for a microloan program for women entrepreneurs and farmers.
So, yeah, it’s an important topic to me.
But it makes me imagine how our writing could improve — itself and the wider world — elevate when we actively make an effort to choose words which lift us up.
What unusual turns of phrase have worked for you?