Authenticity Reading or Sensitivity Reading?

You may see both "authenticity reading" and "sensitivity reading" thrown around blogs, social media posts, and other writing spaces, but what is the difference between the two, and which one do you need?

What is the difference?

There isn’t one. I know, it's confusing. Both terms are being used to mean the same thing. If you search, they tend to be used interchangeably. Aligning more with preference than a credible distinction. That’s not to say no one is making a distinction; it's that there is no widely agreed-upon difference.

So what do they mean? 

Both are services provided to authors writing about a historically marginalized identity or culture that they are not a member of, to help improve the authenticity and representation of a character, plot, setting, and/or dialogue. In other words, it helps improve the genuine, unbiased representation of an identity, culture, or community, aided by feedback from a member of that community. 

If it’s essentially interchangeable, why the different terminology? 

Words matter, right? 😉For some, it’s a simple preference. Some think the phrase “sensitivity reading” is vague and can be confusing. Some see the term and assume the service values protecting fragile feelings over creativity and craft. In other words, sensitivity readers want to force authors to be more “sensitive.” On the other hand, “authenticity” comes across as emotionally neutral and less vague.

I’ve been “sensitivity reading” for over ten years, and I've noticed an attempt (consciously or subconsciously) to dissociate from sensitivity reading because the term has received backlash from being labeled as “woke” or related to the always nebulous villain “DEI.”

Troubling Trends

What troubles me more is a new trend I’ve seen. Folks offering sensitivity reads, but do not have the lived experience of being a member of a historically marginalized identity. Instead, these are broad and generalized feedback of all historically marginalized identities simultaneously. This usually amounts to not much more than superficial flagging of words and phrases as offensive, which they’ve researched from publicly available resources. 

While this may be a helpful time saver, this isn't the same service a sensitivity reader with lived experience provides. These focus on just the identities the reader is a member of or closely adjacent to, which requires cultural nuance from time spent as an insider of that community. It’s also worth noting that sensitivity readers often flag when something is considered offensive, in addition to the refined feedback they give with their own expertise.

What term does Writing Diversely use?

We’re sticking to “sensitivity reading” for now. 

Are there other terms I should know?

Yes! "Cultural consultant" is a term I’ve seen as well. Their services may be different from those of a sensitivity reader. The way I like to think of it is: all sensitivity readers are cultural consultants, but not all cultural consultants are sensitivity readers.