Towards a non-discriminatory, inclusive use of language and images in our journal

Abstract

Early popular visual culture, by its very definition, stems from a period in which different standards and norms were dominating public opinion-and some of this historical material is discriminatory. People from a great range of identities, whether due to gender, religion, ethnicity, race, sexuality, disability or class are presented in derogatory ways-both in word and image. Committed to overcoming discrimination and to making academic research a more inclusive space, we editors find it important to discuss with our readers, writers and reviewers how to deal with historical forms of discrimination without repeating and thereby perpetuating those forms. We are not intending to be exhaustive nor definitive about the breadth of inclusivity under consideration. The suggestions made in this document are neither prescriptive nor concrete guidelines. This editorial is authored by the editorial team and was written up by Sarah Dellmann after discussion with Joe Kember and Andrew Shail. It should be considered a beginning rather than conclusion of our engagement with these issues. Although the primary aim of this editorial is to discuss and develop a publication strategy for our journal, we decided to also include reflections on the use and presentation of images from the perspectives of archives, online resources and lecturing. This is for two reasons: firstly, most of our authors, readers and reviewers are engaged in teaching and/or use or contribute to online-accessible databases of historical material; and secondly, we consider that strategies and reflections from the fields of teaching and documentation can inform our debate on publication in a productive manner. This initiative had the general support of all board members and we are thankful for all advice and suggestions we received. The broad interest in this debate showed us that there is a need as well as expertise and interest to continue this discussion. We will create a 'living document' based on this editorial, which we invite you all, editors, authors and readers, to develop further. All resources quoted can be found at the end.

Improving service interactions through inclusive language for Sindh’s Sheedis

“…4.1 Racist language in relation to physical features/color used in the health and education sectors According to Dellmann et al (2017), racism has been operationalized through image and word. The use of racist language in service sectors or organizations can negatively affect workers' creativity, performance and innovation (Bagalini, 2020).…”

“…Many researchers have studied inclusiveness in the service sector focusing on how faith based service inclusion fosters well-being and hopefulness among vulnerable communities (Davey et al , 2021), how culturally appropriate service interactions can increase the service utilization by a target community (Davis et al , 2017; Dellmann et al , 2017) and how service providers accommodating linguistic preferences of their customers can increase the quality of service interactions (Zolfagharian et al , 2017; Zolfagharian et al , 2018).…”

“…However, color is not the only type of racist language. Such divisive racism has historically existed in both word and image, which means in language and in art forms (Dellmann, et al , 2017). In his review of four empirical studies, De Costa (2020) discusses how linguistic racism can be enacted through racial micro-aggressions, racial prejudice or sociolinguistic pressures imposed on racially marginalized communities.…”

Whole Volume

“…Concerning the business sector, it was shown that when management and, consequently, the whole organization promotes receptivity to difference, namely by making use of inclusive language, it positively influences employee creativity and performance, creating an organizational culture of openness (Lauring & Klitmøller, 2017). The recognition of the need to use inclusive language and the ethical declaration that the organization aims to use it as much as possible to avoid any exclusions is becoming increasingly common, in scientific journals and newspapers for instance (Dellmann et al, 2017).…”

Images of Dutchness

“…For a short discussion of whether or not to put the term "race" in scare quotes, cf. Dellmann, Kember, and Shail (2017). In her comparative study on the creation of national identities in Europe, Anne-Marie Thiesse notes that many research projects at the beginning of the nineteenth century were undertaken to bring national difference into the picture.…”