We understand the power of words and their ability to hurt or empower. We hope that our website is a safe space for everyone and try our best to use terminology that we feel best describes the group we are referring to. Below we lay out the rules that we will use and the reasons why.
RULES
- We will first and foremost use the terminology that the person(s) we are referring to identify as. For example, if one scientist identifies as Black and another as African American, we will use that respective terminology for each of them. This rule also applies to our descriptions of articles, etc.
- We will try to use the most inclusionary phrasing possible. I.e. instead of “Latino” we will use “Latina/o/x” to encompass everyone in the cohort that we are talking about.
- If space is limited, we will use the default terms below:
TERMINOLOGY
- Black, with a capital B: We will always use Black with a capital “B” (see why here).
- Latinx: The word “Latinx” is a recent term coined to be a gender neutral alternative to Latina/o. However we realize that the term is controversial within the Latina/o/x community and when possible we will use the full “Latino/a/x” designation to capture how everyone identifies.
- LGBTQIA+: there are many iterations of LGBTQ+ (i.e. LGBT, LGBT+, LGBTQI, etc). We will use LGBTQIA+ as a default. Again, we believe that this is the most concise yet comprehensive term.
- Note: We recognize that language is constantly evolving. We will be updating our website to ensure that the wording and statements are up to date and appreciate any input on how to make our site more welcoming.