Amy Nelson Content Creations

Language is flexible and fluid. Words adapt, develop new meanings, and gain in popularity as they catch on. Being conscious means being aware of how flexible language is and adapting when slang terms turn into offensive slurs.

Becoming the Conscious Communicator

To become a conscious communicator, “we must make the unconscious, conscious”¹ in terms of biases. Sometimes we need to pause and reflect before we speak. If we were to put ourselves in the position of the other, would we appreciate the way we are spoken to or about?

Content

Content is quite simple; this refers to anything that you are communicating. It could be a text, a poster, a video reel, or even this blog post that you are reading.

Context

Words can change meaning with context because it is “the connective tissue that imbues content with meaning.”² It is the difference between saying sick as cool and sick as messed up.

Context is essential as it provides information regarding the “time, place, history, social setting, environment, economic situations and cultural settings necessary to give meaning;”³ without context, this can lead to false assumptions.

Consequence

Similar to context, “words have the ability to shift perceptions and impose conclusions.”² How do your perceptions change when thinking of the words Hispanic, Latino/a/x, or Mexican? The choice of words used when communicating carries weight for how they are interpreted.

Don’t forget that words have power, as “unintentional discrimination is discrimination.”² As cancel culture flourishes, comment sections are quick to call out influencers for misspeaking. Forms of misspeak come from insensitive statements, clueless comments, dismissive remarks, and the silent treatment.¹ Luckily most can be avoided through education and understanding.

Complexity

Complexity explains the fluidity of language because “people, situations, and relationships are inherently complex, so complexity is part and parcel of language.”²

Complexity highlights that there is more to the story than being good versus bad or black versus white, and illuminates gray areas. This leads to objectivity, defined as “the bigger, fuller picture of the story that includes different viewpoints.”³

In history, the word retard, retarded, and mental retardation were used medically to describe people with a mental disability. These terms gained popularity and were used in offensive ways, turning them into slurs against the disabled community.

In 2010, President Obama introduced laws changing the way we talk about people with disabilities to adopt a people-first language approach.⁴ Some examples include: a person who is deaf, a person with a disability, a person who uses a wheelchair, and more.

Another example is the word gay. In the 2010s, there was a public service campaign from GLSEN,⁵ an organization advocating for LGBTQ+ student safety, about saying “that’s gay” when referring to something that is dumb, lame, or stupid. There was a commercial campaign that featured Hillary Duff,⁶ who made a call to action for people to stop and reflect on what they say – as this is considered to be an offensive slur.

Now, 15 years later, the same sentence of saying “that’s gay” is still offensive. However, there have been recent shifts in the queer community reclaiming the word gay.

Compassion

I wrote in my previous article about the ethics of empathy, which relates to compassion as it is defined as the determination of “whether language is perceived as harmful, we need to defer to those directly affected by it.”²

Before asking if your Black friend is offended by you singing the n-word in a rap song – do your homework first. This contributes to the problematic “expectation that people of color should teach white people about racism,”⁷ as it places the burden on them and evades responsibility for our actions.

Instead, ask yourself, by using these words am I perpetuating stereotypes or am I offending someone through my choice of words?

Language is fluid as meanings can change based on the context. There are varying complexities because everyone has different preferences about the way they are spoken to or about. Depending on the content, how the message is shared, there can be varying consequences too. To speak with inclusivity means to speak with compassion and understanding. Being a conscious communicator takes all of these factors into account before speaking.

---

---

References

¹ Stovall, Janet M, and Kim Clark. 2022. The Fine Art of Not Saying Stupid Sh*t. Vol. 1. Publish Your Purpose.

² Yin, Karen. 2024. The Conscious Style Guide. Little, Brown Spark.

³ Len-Ríos, M E, and E L Perry. 2019. Cross-cultural journalism: Communicating strategically about diversity. 2nd. Routledge.

⁴ Special Olympics. n.d. Why the R-Word Is the R-Slur. Accessed April 2025. https://www.specialolympics.org/stories/impact/why-the-r-word-is-the-r-slur.

⁵ GLSEN. n.d. About Us. Accessed April 2025. https://www.glsen.org/about-us#snt–1.

⁶ SuchIsLife. 2011. Hilary Duff PSA “Think Before You Speak” Runs During Hannity. August 5. Accessed April 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8fiwbR96j0.

⁷ Diangelo, Robin. 2018. White fragility: Why it’s so hard for white people to talk about racism. Beacon Press.