What the Heck is a Sensitivity Reader or Sensitivity Review? Who Needs Them? Questions Answered

So You Haven’t Heard of a Sensitivity Reader?

So what is a Sensitivity Reader or Sensitivity Review, anyway? A Sensitivity Reader is someone who has a writing or editing background; (or simply an avid reader) with extensive personal experiences that they use to draw upon when they review projects submitted to them for bias, racism, or unintentional stereotypes.

(BTW: If you’re not offended by the above Dove ad, you should not be a Sensitivity Reader).

Sensitivity Readers are not regular editors or censors. They do not proof, look for holes in stories, or re-write or delete content. In fact, all projects given to Sensitivity Readers are given voluntarily.  The Sensitivity Reader simply reads for what they consider to be offensive content, misrepresentation or stereotypes, and points it out. The author of the content chooses whether to use their suggestions or not.

The children’s book, A Birthday Cake For George Washington, was pulled by Scholastic for showing a “happy slave” baking a cake for one of our founding fathers. The authors romanticized slavery and ignored the fact that Hercules, the baker, was ripped away from his family and put into forced labor for George Washington. Hercules tried to escape many times, yet the book recklessly conveyed to children that Hercules and his daughter, Delia were “happy slaves.” Several African-American Sensitivity Readers would have caught this right away and could have helped them avoid the public outcry and boycott of this book which cost Scholastic a bundle. (Note: Hercules did eventually escape from slavery, but had to leave his daughter behind. They conveniently left that part out.)

So who can be a Sensitivity Reader? If you belong to a marginalized group and have experienced being viewed as a stereotype, faced bias or racism, then you have a mandatory tool in order to become a Sensitivity Reader.  Some of these groups include: the disabled, little people, African-Americans, LGBTQ, Hispanics, Asians, Indians, Anti Semitism, Native Americans, Muslims, Middle-Eastern, the obese, are in an interracial relationship; just to name a few.

There are several more must-have skills needed in order to offer this service to book publishers, authors, the gaming community, marketing agencies, etc.

Would you like to learn how to become a Sensitivity Reader and make money working from home while providing a valuable service?

Attend my free webinar, July 7, 2018.  Register by CLICKING BELOW. Seats are limited and registration will close once we’ve hit the capacity.