#43 How the Use of a Sensitivity Reader Sparked a Controversy in Indian Publishing
From Agatha Christie to Radhika Iyengar, books are undergoing sensitivity checks, sparking controversy in the publishing world. What are these checks, and why are they labeled as censorship?
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Recently, several of our childhood favourite books by authors like Agatha Christie, P.G Wodehouse, Roald Dahl, and Ian Fleming underwent revisions by sensitivity readers. While the revisions omitted racist terms like the n-word and antisemitic phrases, words like ‘fat’ and ‘black’ have also been replaced. On the other hand, ignorant remarks about Asians, and violent language against women and queer people were completely skipped over. Readers have equated these revisions to censorship, causing controversy surrounding the work of sensitivity readers.
However, sensitivity reading is far from censorship.
Sensitivity readers are people who review a piece of work for language or content that might be insensitive, stereotypical, or inaccurate. According to Mimi Mondal, an Indian writer and editor based in New York, “the sensitivity reader is always someone marginalized and much less socially powerful than the author”.
In this way, sensitivity readers’ lived experiences allow them to suggest (not impose) changes that bring nuance and depth into writings about marginalized communities. This way, authors can also write characters outside of their own identities, making sure that they are not propagating harmful stereotypes or biases while treading unknown territory. Check out this post for a detailed guide to sensitivity reading.
In the past few years, Indian authors have also started realizing the value of sensitivity readers. For instance, following the release of Radhika Iyengar’s “Fire on the Ganges”, she acknowledged the work of her sensitivity reader on social media, thanking them for reviewing her book which focuses on the Doms, a marginalized community tasked with handling the last rites of the dead.
Sensitivity reading is relatively new to India and hence, there is no proper structure or terms of pay yet. According to Yogesh Maitreya, a Dalit writer and publisher, an Indian publishing giant approached him more than once to review an upper-caste author’s work featuring a Dalit character.
He says, “I am open to having a dialogue as an equal, a friend, but in this situation, this author was going to get paid for the book, whereas my time would not (be compensated).”
Maitreya also adds that he thinks asking marginalised people to proofread a piece of work without compensation is the publishing industry’s way of seeming politically correct with minimal effort, and that authors should just do their own research. This comes at a time when we’re seeing marginalized voices being excluded from mainstream publishing to the extent that Dalit and queer writers are starting their own independent publishing houses.
However, these are all the more reasons to adopt sensitivity checks in the publishing process. Creating professional roles for sensitivity reads will allow publishers and authors to actively involve marginalized people in the publishing industry, paying them for their insights which they’re otherwise made to offer for free. Even from a publisher’s perspective, hiring sensitivity readers will eliminate potential backlash or the need for later revisions.
Ultimately, we cannot predict that a book will remain relevant and unproblematic years from now, but sensitivity checks are a good start for authors and publishers to start taking accountability of the content they put out.
Still unsure of whether your writing needs sensitivity checks? Check out this post to know when and why you might benefit from a sensitivity reader!
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