How Can Charity Language Survive the Woke Backlash?
A red and blue illustrated map entitled ‘Mapping the Culture Wars’. It includes features such as the Desert of Attention, Minefield of Inclusive Language and Forest of Complexity.
Illustration by Holly Moeller of Kettle and Quill.
Woke has failed. So says not Donald Trump, but self-identifying communist and political activist Ash Sarkar in her new book Minority Rule. Ok, Donald Trump would likely say this too. But Ash is more progressive left than regressive right. So what’s going on?
And if Ash and Donald are right, what are the consequences for charities, often regarded as the most woke storytellers around? With supporters in increasingly short supply, do they need to reframe their stories of social justice to stay relevant?
In this edition of Stories For Social Good, I discuss:
How woke has become such a lethal weapon in the culture wars and why charities should care
The power of charity language and the need to adapt in a post-woke communications landscape
Why the anti-woke lobby has had the edge with slogans that cut through
Six ways forward for charity storytellers and practitioners to rise to this new challenge
First of all, what does woke even mean? Once merely the past simple tense of the word ‘wake’, since at least the 1930s and overwhelmingly so since the 2010s, woke has referred to an alertness to racial discrimination and social injustice.
But as you know, what it really means depends on your worldview: it’s either a laudable call to arms for progressive politics or a wrong-headed commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) that threatens society’s downfall. Woke is the preeminent weapon of the culture wars, which has increasingly become more lethal in the hands of the right than the left.
So much more lethal, in fact, that it’s helping a minority of rich and powerful media moguls, journalists and politicians convince majorities in Western democracies to obsess over a relatively small number of people – trans people, migrants in small boats – about whom they wouldn’t normally pay much attention. Meanwhile, the white working class, once derided by the right as chavs, are now lauded as the real victims in a liberal society spiralling out of control.
Going Woke and Going Hard
So why should charities care? Well, when it comes to the culture wars, most charities have picked their side. They go woke. And go hard. Over the last few years, in response to Black Lives Matter, #MeToo and various industry scandals, charities have had their consciousness raised. Many are working hard to ‘decolonise’ their systems, structures and communications through diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and anti-racist initiatives and guides.
Language guides their way, signalling these fairer, more just ways of operating. As a storyteller, I get it: the words we choose to describe our work and persuade people of our cause are powerful. Language frames issues, people and stories that touch hearts, inspire minds and prompt our supporters to act.
Used consistently over time, language has the power to overturn – or reinforce – oppressive power dynamics between different groups in society. Choices about language go to the heart of why I set up Storytelling For Social Good: to express in words ideas, feelings and stories that make the world a happier, more just place to live.
So I love seeing more and more communications briefs referring me to anti-racist or inclusive language guides and policies. A few years ago, I’d often find myself gently pointing out unintended uses of outdated or discriminatory language to clients. Now, it can be the other way around too. Clients’ feedback reveals their experiences of DEI training and familiarity with their charity’s particular take on inclusive language.
But what if our language isn’t landing? What if, in the culture wars, charities have picked the wrong side?
Kamala is for They/Them. Trump is for You.
I happen to think there’s a lot wrong with this campaign slogan. It’s divisive. It says that ‘you’, a presumed cis-gender person, could never hold the same political views as a non-binary person. ‘You’ are the majority, the near-universal; ‘they/them’ are the other, the abnormal, the threat. It also cynically and negatively focuses attention on trans rights, seeking to distract voters, the vast majority of whom, as we saw above, are more concerned with other issues.
But you have to admit it’s a great line. It’s punchy and memorable with a beautifully delivered play on words. In a cacophony of political messages, it cuts through. It makes things simple. If I’m not a ‘they/them’, I must be a ‘you’. Trump must be for me. It sounds like common sense (another framing used to position woke as somehow deviant or radical). And, like ‘Make America Great Again’, ‘Take Back Control’ or ‘Get Brexit Done’, it works.
The right has an advantage when it comes to translating ideological views into slogans or straplines. Anti-racism and inclusion are difficult and complex. Diversity is about acknowledging multiple views, cultures and experiences. Working to undo centuries of intersectional oppression is hard and takes time. Such processes do not easily lend themselves to pithy one-liners. From reductive politics comes reductive language. From progressive politics comes challenging concepts harder to put into words.
This is why inclusive language sometimes guides us to be more long-winded. People must not be defined by their circumstances: not ‘homeless people’ but ‘people experiencing homelessness’; not ‘vulnerable people’ but ‘people made vulnerable by conflict’. Nor should language reduce people to passive recipients: not ‘beneficiaries’ but ‘people we support’. And, of course, perhaps the most complex and most targeted: not gay men and women but LGBTQIA+.
But has inclusive language begun to inhibit our ability to connect with supporters?
A recent poll shows that right-wing populists in Reform UK are set to win a majority if a general election were called today. At the same time, just 49% of Reform voters say they trust charities (UK average = 62%), and only 29% believe that charities are ‘representative of people like me’ (versus 41% to 51% for supporters of other parties). Leader Nigel Farage says his party is “unashamedly pro the family, pro communities and pro country. And we don’t believe in woke.”
With anti-woke feeling in the ascendancy and woke messaging often wordy and complex, how can charities with anti-racist and inclusive intentions stay on course?
Staying woke, not saying it.
Often, charities want to put marginalised communities centre stage. For many, it might be core to their mission. But how do we highlight injustices in a way that doesn’t inadvertently harm those people’s interests? I don’t have all the answers, but here are six possible ways forward for re-engaging majorities on issues of injustice:
Engage to inform. Understand your audience and meet them where they are. Empathise with their feelings before making the argument for their support.
Simple is good. The issues may be complex, but people need an accessible way in. Resist overly academic and intellectual language.
Don’t preach. Lead by example rather than telling people what they should and shouldn’t think and say.
Don’t blame. Language is a minefield, and the mines keep moving. It’s ok (and inevitable) to get things wrong.
Choose your battles. Reserve our outrage for the injustices that really deserve it, not the less significant encounters that suck energy from the bigger issues.
Invest in writing. Pulling this off can be tricky, but it’s some people’s job. Engage specialist copywriters and storytellers to ensure your message cuts through.
We may be living through challenging times – as a sector and a society. But there is hope. Check out Ettie Bailey-King’s simple and insightful guides to inclusive language, Najité Phoenix’s elegant and bite-sized toolkit for decolonising communications, or Gary Stevenson’s hugely popular and down-to-earth videos that challenge wealth inequality – to name but three.
Ash and Donald may be right; woke is over. But the ideas and principles that underpin it remain as vital as ever. As writers, storytellers and practitioners in non-profit and purpose-led spaces, we can rise to this new challenge.
📣 📖 Story of the Month 📖 📣
This edition’s story of the month is slightly different. It begins with an illustrator at the start of their career contacting me about a potential collaboration. We met, discovered we had a lot in common, and established a rapport. Then came the jeopardy: how could she possibly create an illustration for a topic so abstract as ‘woke charity language’? She took me on a journey, shared her creative leap, and then it appeared – the marvellous illustration you see at the top of this article. The End.
The illustrator’s name is Holly Moeller, she has a fabulous website called Kettle & Quill, and I’m hoping this won’t be the only story we tell together.
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