About -isms

The "-isms Golden Rule" in the textbook is important. Editors need to be especially aware of how others are addressed, talked about, and referred to. Some of the examples of -isms I found are:

Heterosexism
Most of the examples I found were from past publications. Some of these were the listing of homosexuality as a disability, or referring to something as "gay" (I found examples of this in some reading books). Editors should be aware of the power certain words carry. Many words used to talk about the homosexual community are insults and slurs, and not appropriate for professional writing.

Sexism
This one was tricky for me. I eventually settled on a textbook, Intro to Communication. Several times, the text will say, "If a person wants to properly communicate, he needs to..." Also vice a versa, "When someone at work is struggling, they should..." It flips back and forth, sometimes without a recognizable reason. It needs to follow the AP Stylebook's suggestion of finding a neutral way to refer to a theoretical person.

Racism
I saw a sign that said, "Russia Party! Babushka! Ole!" Yes, the sign was actually real. "Babushka" means "grandma" in Russian. The "ole" seemed wrong. To add insult to injury, a picture of Stalin was on the sign.

Ageism
I saw an example in my family this week. My grandmother is coming up from Michigan to visit this Christmas. Family members and I were texting about plans we could make with her. My little sister suggested that we go see a ballet. My older cousin sarcastically texted, "Wouldn't you like to play on a Wii instead?" My sister didn't take it well! We need to remember that interests and experiences are not always limited to age. In a reverse example, the AP Stylebook warns about using "elderly" or "senior citizen" in writing unless absolutely necessary.

Grammar Mistake:
I sent a text to a friend (she's an English major, so she caught my error) that read, "The weather should be real cold this weekend." I embarrassed myself, as it was a grammar issue that we covered previously in class.