living wage / minimum wage
Minimum wage is the lowest wage an employer legally has to pay an employee; a living wage is less precisely defined and is highly contingent on outside factors, including the cost of living in a particular area. The MIT Living Wage Calculator is one well-known method for understanding an area’s living wage. The term can be used in direct quotes, but it can also be helpful to note that there is no universal living wage and that it is highly contingent on cost of living factors in different areas.
low-skilled labor
Low-skilled labor is associated with a lack of specialized training or educational attainment, requiring only a minimal skill set. The term “manual labor” is also used; some government departments and organizations refer to unskilled work or unskilled labor, though clarifying the criteria is helpful.
manufactured home / modular home / mobile home
Manufactured home can refer to a factory-constructed home transported to a home site. Modular homes are governed by state guidelines and are more likely to be transportable between locations. Mobile homes refer to constructions made prior to changes in federal construction codes from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, when the agency adopted the term “manufactured home” for any new movable housing. “Manufactured home” may carry less negative connotations than something like “trailer,” which may reinforce classist stereotypes. Similarly, when it comes to areas where numerous homes are located, using “mobile home encampment” or “park” is an alternative to the historically negative catchall “trailer park.”
neighborhood
A neighborhood refers to a localized district or section within a town, city, rural, or suburban area. Being specific about the demographics of a neighborhood can be helpful to avoid outdated or stereotypical ideas about neighborhoods’ demographics. In addition, being specific about a neighborhood’s location and the mean income level of residents can be useful in conversations about topics like gentrification. Historically racist connotations around terms like “hood” or “ghetto” may make them fraught to use outside of direct quotations. If including, some context of their loaded history is helpful for clarity.
NIMBY
NIMBY is an acronym (“not in my backyard”) for an individual known for opposition to local development, often housing development but also other projects such as renewable energy, while generally supporting such measures in the abstract. When discussing NIMBYism, it’s helpful to specify the policies in question and the influence racism and classism may have in objections to those policies.
nomad / van life / vandwelling
Avoid stereotyping who may have this type of lifestyle; while some may be unhoused or houseless, it also became popular among a subset of Silicon Valley tech workers. It also may be useful to note the risks associated with travel and living outside of a “standard home,” particularly for people of color, women, and LGBTQ+ individuals who are more likely to have their presence questioned when, for example, sleeping in parking lots or gas stations.
obesity
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines obesity as “a common, serious, and costly chronic disease of adults and children” characterized by the presence of excess weight, as defined by the body mass index standard and the presence of excess fat. The BMI dates to nearly 200-year-old investigations into the height and weight of “average” European men, and groups of scientists have sought in recent years to revise its cut-points for health risks to account for racial and sex variations. Some researchers have suggested moving away from using BMI as a measurement altogether. People who carry extra weight experience pervasive stigmatization and discrimination, and negative bias toward obese people has only increased as their numbers have. The blame and shame directed at those with obesity acts to undermine their health care and workforce opportunities, and further compounds the negative health effects of the weight itself. If necessary to discuss body size or weight in coverage, it’s important to be clear about how obesity is being defined, and to recognize the differing societal expectations and implications of body size based on factors like race, gender, and socioeconomic status.
old money / new money
“Old money” refers to established and inherited wealth, generally spanning generations. “New money” (or nouveau riche) refers to money gained during one’s own generation. Both are colloquial terms and benefit from explanation/interrogation.
older adults
Older adults may be a preferable term over “elderly” or “aging,” as not all those who could be described that way may identify with those terms. Specifying ages or ranges is clearer than more euphemistic terms like “aging,” “elder,” and “senior” or “senior citizen.”
opioid epidemic
Language, Please is a living resource that will be regularly updated. We’re working hard on an entry for this topic — please check back in soon.
Last updated 08/05/22
Honest discussions of money and social standing and the myriad factors that determine them are often complicated, and the language of US news coverage tends to reflect that. People may rely on established euphemisms or coded terms when more specific language would be more illuminating.
This section of the Language, Please style guidance aims to help journalists recognize language that’s weighed down in subtext and navigate subjects of socioeconomic status and social standing in a nuanced way.
This resource was informed by questions and discussions from our own newsrooms. It is a living document that will update and expand over time. It is not meant to be comprehensive or the definitive arbiter of language “rules” but instead aims to give context and inform thoughtful decision-making. Have a suggestion for an update, change, or addition? Please get in touch.
How to use: Browse the whole section or search for the term you need guidance on; click into any term for in-depth context, additional resources, and related terms.
Featured term: incarcerated person
An incarcerated person is someone confined to a prison, mental hospital, or similar institution. In general, person-first language, or phrasing such as “X individual, who was convicted of a felony,” puts the focus on the individual rather than one aspect of their circumstances, especially contrasted with terms such as ex-con, felon, convict, and criminal, which risk defining someone solely by their experience with the criminal legal system. In headlines or in shorthand, the term “prisoner” may be more straightforward and humanizing than a term like “felon” or “convict,” since not all individuals housed in jails and prisons are convicted of crimes, and such terms often imply a sense of guilt to the general public.
Jail and prison are not interchangeable: Generally, jail is for those who have just been arrested or are awaiting trial or sentencing, though some serving shorter sentences will do so in jail. Prison is generally for those serving longer sentences.
Featured term: homelessness/houselessness
Homelessness and houselessness are terms for the state of individuals currently lacking a regular nighttime residence. Person-first language such as “people without housing,” “people without homes,” or “person experiencing homelessness (or houselessness)” may read as less stigmatizing than a phrase like “the homeless,” as it reinforces that houselessness is one aspect of someone’s identity that doesn’t define them. “Houseless” or “unhoused” also decouples the concept from the more positive connotation of “home,” and encompasses more than “homeless,” as this could also refer to, for example, living in one’s vehicle.
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