To be culturally sensitive, you need to be inquisitive, receptive and non-judgemental. How can you show cultural sensitivity in travel writing? The words we use can enforce privilege, perpetuate stereotypes and “otherise” anyone who looks, acts, or speaks differently to us. We’re becoming more aware of how this applies to different groups in our own countries - displaying sensitivity to people of various skin colours, sexual orientation, or gender - so we need to take this same burgeoning consciousness and apply it to our communications when we write about people in other countries. Our world is more global than ever, so it is our imperative to make conscious choices around the terminology we use when referring to others. Why is cultural sensitivity in language important?ĭisplaying cultural sensitivity means ensuring that your language avoids relying on unfounded assumptions or stereotypes of a given cultural group. If you write about travel, or are interested in dissecting travel narratives with a more sensitive lens, here are some factors to consider when describing cultures different to your own. A lack of cultural sensitivity can also just be a problem of ignorance it takes work to recognise your privileges and challenge your own world views. Too often, cultural sensitivity is eschewed in favour of voyeurism, taking refuge in entitlement, or plain laziness. To put it bluntly, travel writing isn’t always culturally sensitive. Or more specifically, often travel writing involves a white person with a fair amount of passport and financial privilege visiting “foreign” countries and writing about how cheap they are, how rich the culture is, how friendly the locals are. Travel writing involves writing about other cultures.
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