Bias Language Affects Us All

by Spencer S., 6th grader

While you are reading books, magazines and newspaper articles be aware that writers may be using biased language which could influence your opinion to believe something that may not be true. The language a writer uses can change the thinking and feelings of the reader.

One example of this is in many books about Christopher Columbus. Writers credit Columbus with discovering America. Saying that Christopher Columbus “discovered” America is the wrong word for what he did. He was one of the first Europeans to stumble across America, but there had already been people living there for many years. In addition, most children learn only about Columbus’s accomplishments, but there is more to the story. It is true that Columbus was a great explorer and somehow managed to get the king and queen of Spain to pay for his voyage which could not have been easy, but he was very cruel to the natives. He enslaved the natives after seeing their gold, and with his fifty men was responsible for the death of many. The way the Christopher Columbus story is written is a clear example of biased language,  but there are also more recent  examples. The news reports from Hurricane Katrina also show some biased language. The reporters say that African-American people “looted” grocery stores while white people “found” loose groceries. Through pictures from the report it is clear that both the white and African-American people were doing the same thing, yet one was reported as looting and another reported as finding. The reporters,through biased language, make it seem that the African American person was doing something  horrific, but what the white person was doing is fine. I can imagine that many African-American people were angry at this reporter, and this shows the bias in writing today.  There have also been examples in which writers have used biased language when referring to different genders. It is often common for people to say women are being bossy simply when they are trying to be leaders. Men are rarely characterized as bossy in the same situation, so it doesn’t make sense for a woman to be called bossy if she is just trying to be a leader. Women can lead just as well as men and they should not be discriminated against for being a leader. A “ban bossy” movement has even begun to stop people from calling women leaders bossy. This shows how hurtful and powerful biased language can be when used in the wrong place. As shown in these three examples, biased language can be found in many different pieces of writing. It is important to always be aware and look out for language that can be misleading.