I started so many reflections on the topic of inclusion. It’s such a wide topic and there were so many different directions that I could go, I just couldn’t seem to finish a complete piece.
I would start strong, but then the words would escape me, darting off in all directions.
I tried to catch them and wrangle them into coherence, tried to line them up in profound order, but they keep bounding away.
The words. Which words do I use? Which words do I include?
Which words are ‘acceptable’ to publish?
Which words are ‘professional’?
Which words have historically been scrubbed form the published record?
African American Vernacular English (AAVE) is certainly not my heritage, but it has largely been excluded from publication.
Y’all is my heritage.
Y’all has also been excluded.
In recent years, I’ve been shifting away from using ‘guys’ to refer to a gender-neutral group of people because it can read as masculine-as-default.
Y’all is a perfect replacement.
The southern dialect, often ignored as being unintelligent, has had the perfect word this whole time!
What words do y’all want to include?
~Aline Harris
