"How can we have intelligent or difficult conversations if we can't even use the words, the most basic unit of meaning? We're now living in a country where the government has decided that a sweeping array of everyday terms will now be erased and forbidden in government agencies, websites, or even scientific research proposals. These prohibitions on language are utterly chilling and will impede efforts to research real-world problems and advance human knowledge."
PEN America released a list of over 250 words and phrases allegedly being scrubbed from government websites and documents by the Trump administration. The White House denied creating an official banned words list, but many terms on PEN America's compilation relate to diversity, LGBTQ+ issues, and social equity—including words like "accessibility," "discrimination," "gender," "transgender," "inequality," and "social justice." Jonathan Friedman from PEN America's U.S. Free Expression Programs expressed concern that prohibiting basic vocabulary impedes meaningful discourse and scientific research. Additional terms target climate and immigration topics, reflecting the administration's political priorities and worldview.
Read at LGBTQ Nation
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