Language not only develops in conjunction with society’s historical, economic and political evolution, but also reflects that society’s attitudes and thinking. Language not only expresses ideas and concepts, but actually shapes thought. There are some phrases and colloquialisms with discriminatory or offensive roots, which are sometimes little known. It’s important to critically examine the very language we use, and consciously aim to eliminate where racist bias has been built into our everyday lexicon. Here are a few to get you started:
Blacklist/whitelist: In tech, a blacklist refers to a directory of specific elements, such as email addresses, IP addresses or URLs, that are blocked. A whitelist, by contrast, is made up of elements that are allowed. This evokes the bias of good and bad enshrined with race. Many companies are encouraging developers to use “blocklist” and “allowlist” instead.
Cakewalk: It’s what we call an easy victory, or something that’s easily accomplished. Plantation owners held contests in which enslaved people competed for a cake. Later, the dance — and the idiom — was popularized through blackface minstrel shows, characterized by a “a high-leg prance with a backward tilt of the head, shoulders and upper torso.” This reference is rife with racist connotations and stereotypes.
Eskimo: comes from the same Danish word borrowed from Algonquin, “ashkimeq,” which literally means “eaters of raw meat.” Either way, when we refer to an entire group of people by their perceived behaviors, we trivialize their existence and culture. Be sure to do some research and start using the proper terms, like Inuit.
Low man on the totem pole: Totem poles are monuments created by the First Nations of the Pacific Northwest to represent and commemorate ancestry, histories, people, or events. The term “low man on the totem pole,” when used as an idiom to describe a person of low rank, inaccurately trivializes the tradition and meaning of the totem poles, which do not have a hierarchy of carvings based on physical position. Consciously replace this turn of phrase with – Person of lower rank, junior-level.
Lynch mob: The racist roots of the phrase are hidden in plain sight. Though it’s evolved into an umbrella term for an “unjust attack,” lynch mobs originated as hordes of people, most always White, who’d torture and kill Black people — often by hanging them — as a form of vigilante justice. Let’s just choose a different word, ok?
Master bedrooms/bathrooms: While it’s unclear whether the term is rooted in American slavery on plantations, it evokes that history. There is a movement to instead replace “master” with “primary” to describe bedrooms and bathrooms on real estate listings.
Master/slave: Tech engineers use these terms to describe components of software and hardware in which one process or device controls another. Many companies are eliminating “master/slave” terminology and instead using “primary/replica.”
Peanut gallery: The phrase typically refers to the cheapest seats in a theater, and is informally used to describe critics or hecklers. The term dates back to the vaudeville era of the late 19th century and referred to the sections of the theater where Black people typically sat. Unbeknownst to many, the phrase suggests dismissal of the ideas and commentary of Black perspectives.
Pow-wow: is a social gathering of Indigenous people that includes dance, singing, and ceremonial elements. Many First Nations organizations hold them on a regular basis. Using this term out of context to refer to a meeting or a quick chat or conversation trivializes the significance of these gatherings. Consciously replace this idiom with – Chat, brief conversation, quick talk, brainstorm.
Savage: The word savage as an adjective typically meant “fierce, ferocious, or cruel; uncivilized; barbarous.” In French, the term sauvage is a slur when used to describe an Indigenous person. In both English and French, the word has a colonial history as it was used by European settlers to refer to Indigenous people. In the photo and film casting industry the use of the term “casting sauvage” for street casting is being called into question as racist.
Sold down the river: While this phrase now refers to a devastating betrayal, its history is more fraught. In the 1800s, Black slaves were literally sold down the river. Slave traders traveled along the Mississippi River, selling enslaved people to plantation owners further south. There awaited inhumane conditions and brutal labor that often ended in death.
“Urban” Music and Artists: used by the music industry to market Black artists. Categorizing black performers as urban has been a sore point for many artists and executives, who see it as a subtle but pernicious form of racism. It groups together a range of genres — including rap, R&B and pop — but the main purpose seems to be to separate that music from the work of white artists. The use of urban in reference to music stems from the radio industry, which initially excluded black artists from its most popular stations.
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