Sensitivity/Authenticity Readings
A couple years ago, I was contacted by Sarah Cypher (pictured here), an editing colleague who is also an author. She was in the editing phase for her novel, The Skin and Its Girl (2023), and she was looking for a sensitivity/authenticity reader to help ensure that her book would be at its best before launching. She needed someone who could provide a subject matter (sensitivity) read regarding her representation of a fictional 1950s Palestinian-American family. I put her in touch with a colleague and the resulting assistance was so productive that she wrote a 2-part article about the experience here (highly recommended for learning more about this topic and an author’s experience with the process).
In today’s post, we’re looking into sensitivity/authenticity readings. What is this? Why/when is it needed? Who offers this service? I use the double term sensitivity/authenticity readings because both are used and preferred by different people. For me, they are interchangeable. This is a service provided for authors and entities (such as publishers and TV/film production companies) to improve texts before publication. Usually it applies to fiction works, although it can also be used for nonfiction, sometimes in combination with fact-checking. It falls within an umbrella of services provided by editors, who are often freelance and work independently. It can also overlap with SME (Subject Matter Expertise) services, but it is a little more specific, checking for bias, not just inaccuracy.
During a sensitivity/authenticity reading, the editor reads through the text to check for authentic representation of potentially sensitive material, often in connection with identity. For example, such material can include representations of cultures, religions, ethnicities, genders, sexual orientations, or any other community/group (neurodiversity, disability, veterans, etc). The editor ensures that the text is bias-free, pointing out any instances of ableist or sexist language or other potentially problematic elements in the text. Such elements can range from macro (for example, an entire character or story arc) to micro (such as an unfortunate word choice). Usually the editor is focusing on the representations of a particular community and this has been identified in the work request. Generally the editor is someone who identifies with the community that is being represented in the text.
If you’re wondering if your text needs this kind of reading, make it high priority for main or important characters. If it’s a small reference, this can be a small service, but it can still be well worth your while if you have the opportunity to have someone look at the reference before your text is in print. This service is helpful any time a writer is concerned about their credibility and reputation due to their representation of a group. Editors providing this service protect writers from misunderstandings. They also protect readers from potential harm through misrepresentations.
This reading can be more or less extensive, depending on how extensive the representation is in the text. For example, Molly Rookwood provides Jewish sensitivity readings. She described one project as a targeted beta read, reading through the entire text for general improvement before launch, and slowing down around appearances of Jewish character(s) for more careful reading and feedback.
As someone who writes about Arabic literature, language, and culture, without being Arab, I have thought about representation in my writing. A college professor gave me a helpful tip to help determine whether a statement or claim is informative or biased: If you heard the same thing about your group (a community you identify with), would you find it informative or biased? If it could sound biased to you, consider rephrasing and/or rethinking your claim. Your readership is wider than you think! With formats and accessibility changing and increasing, it is important to consider what you write before sending it out to the public.
Marcia Lynx Qualey, founder of Arablit.org, explains:
“I feel very practical about it … you wouldn’t want to write a book about hand surgery (unless you were a hand surgeon) without running it by someone who’s done that work. Just so, you wouldn’t want to depict a devout Muslim character (unless that represents you or people you know intimately) without running it by someone, either. I realize the specter of the sensitivity or authenticity reader evokes a fear in some white/male/straight writers, that they’re being told they ‘can’t’ write about some people or experiences. But I think they’re just being told: Hey, don’t rely on harmful stereotypes; you certainly don’t have to, because people are out there willing to help you do it better.”
M.L. Qualey, personal communication
Speaking as a reader in the general public, I recently read Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher, which includes a Muslim character from Anatolia named Haleem. This character was delightful and certainly enhanced by the efforts of two sensitivity readers included in the acknowledgments (Heba ElSherief, working with Salt and Sage, is listed below if you’re looking for such readers). Another recent example is Reclaiming Mni Sota by Colin Mustful, where Michael AmikoGaabaw Loso is mentioned on the front cover for providing a sensitivity reading.
I’ve also seen negative examples (Most recently, I was looking into books by Sharon Shinn, having read and enjoyed one book by her. I came across some negative reviews about unfortunate representations of people with illnesses and chronic pain here). In Ruqaya Izzidien’s blog MuslimImpossible, she reviews works (in Literature, TV, and Film) that miss the mark in the representation of Muslims and Muslim perspectives. In a personal communication, she described her sensitivity/authenticity reading service as follows:
“I work through the text and offer feedback, guidance and explanation on any terms, language, themes, tropes, or arcs that are inaccurate or problematic, and explain why. This helps writers to avoid perpetuating misrepresentation, which contributes to very real problems, such as dehumanization and which can have a financial, moral and even legal impact on publishers and writers.”
Ruqaya Izzidien, personal communication
Where can you find a sensitivity/authenticity reader? There is a large public FB group Binders Full of Sensitivity Readers. You can ask around for someone who identifies with the community and has editing experience. And you can check out the list I’ve compiled below.
Sensitivity/Authenticity Readers
- Nada Sneige Fuleihan | Community/Issue: Arab countries, Arab-American diaspora
- Heba ElSherief | Community/Issue: Muslim, Arab, Egyptian, Arab Diaspora, Post-Colonial People/Themes | Contact: Profile at Salt and Sage Books | X/Twitter
- Ruqaya Izzidien | Community/Issue: Muslim, Arab
- Rhonda Kronyk | Community/Issue: Indigenous/Native
- Meaghan Steeves | Narrative nonfiction: conscious language, sensitivity, fact-checking
- Molly Rookwood | Jewish sensitivity readings
- Eva Kelly Hall | Jewish sensitivity readings
- Crystal Shelley | Asian American experiences (specifically Chinese American) and being the child of immigrants; Chinese culture, but not Chinese history; women’s issues; online gaming (MMORPG) culture; ageism against older adults; Alzheimer’s and related dementias; hospice/end-of-life care
- Maria Eliades | Greek-American, Greek Orthodox Christianity
- Jeanette Fast Redmond | Catholic authenticity reads, mainly nonfiction
- Alicia Chantal | Black experience, Black women in Canada; racial minority in rural/small town; infant/pregnancy loss and miscarriage; caregiving and dementia
- Brenna Bailey-Davies | Bisexuality or pansexuality, Queer experiences within Christianity (and after leaving Christianity), Depression
- Andrew Hodges | LGBTQ+ sensitivity readings
- Tabitha Ashura | sensitivity/authenticity readings with a trans lens
- Wendee Mullikin | Conscious Language, LGBTQ+, trans perspectives, disability, neurodiverse, domestic violence, medical trauma
- Lucinda Pepper | Queer, Queer Femme, Nonbinary, and -Nonbinary Femme identities; LGBTQ; LGBTQ kink and BDSM; emotional violence/abuse; class/poverty; Wiccan community; body positivity; embodiment; trauma-aware healing