Black History Month: Words and Deeds Matter
Why the media must lead the way in adopting non-discriminatory language
Storytelling is as much about words as it is pictures, and yet very rarely in our sector do we undertake training or even discuss how the words that we use go on to shape perception, behaviour and bias in our audiences (and ourselves).
There is growing evidence to suggest that skewed media representations can not only promote public hostility towards certain ethnic groups but also lower individuals’ self-esteem. The damaging impact of such representation, considering that media is ‘a key filter through which people learn about each other’, is incontrovertible; and it is why we need to think much more profoundly about the words we use both on and off camera, when it comes to race.
It's the reason why the acronym ‘BAME’ (shorthand for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) has proven so troubling and unsatisfactory to me, my organisation and many other media institutions over the past few years. Even without doing much research into why we use it, it instinctively feels misplaced and lacking.
Why are we attempting to shoe-horn what is actually the global ethnic majority (estimates suggest around 80% of the global population, in fact) into a reductive, catch-all and frankly, lazy categorisation?
A 2022 YouGov study - conducted entirely with participants considered ‘ethnic minorities’ - found that half of the participants thought that 'BAME' did not represent them well. 45% of the participants felt that it was used to over-simplify the views and experiences of people from ethnic minority groups, while 44% thought it was a short-term fix which avoids addressing systemic racial issues.
Rosemary Campbell-Stephens MBE in her 2020 paper, ‘Global Majority; Decolonising the language and Reframing the Conversation about Race’, demonstrates the deep racial discrimination embedded in the systemic use of this phrase.
“Continuing to use acronyms such as BAME limits the capacity to have honest authentic non-coded conversations about global issues of race and racism.
Black and Asian professionals, some with already anglicised names, cannot even introduce themselves in culturally mixed professional company without ambivalence, hesitation and interpretation, due to the use of confusing terminology, not created by them, about them.
These are more than micro-aggressions… they create a limiting mindset in those minoritised by these labels.”
Not only does use of BAME remove the individual’s specific ethnic identity and the cultural and contextual experiences tied to it, it perpetuates the concept of whiteness as the centralised standard whilst simultaneously placing greater importance on some ethnicities (‘Black, Asian…) over others (‘and minority ethnic’).
Then there’s the problem of who the seemingly catch-all phrase excludes. What about white marginalised groups who experience discrimination? Dr Paul Bagguley writing for University of Leeds publication ‘Northern Notes’ says: “It overlooks other oppressed ethnic and racialised minorities in the UK from Eastern Europe, Roma and Gypsy groups. Furthermore, it overlooks anti-semitism and Islamophobia, for example, as specific forms of racism and sources of ethnic inequalities.”
The TV and Film sector is steadily digesting and acting on the part it has played in perpetuating and enforcing structural inequalities. With an increasingly scaled-up diversity and inclusion programme kicking in post-pandemic and Black Lives Matter, several of the major PSBs have now changed the way they talk about race and ethnicity.
A year ago Birmingham City University published a BBC-commissioned report, written by Marcus Ryder MBE, into the media’s use of the term ‘BAME’. The report concludes that:
BAME in particular now has specific negative connotations associated with it and for this reason particular care needs to be taken when it is used.
People need to be cognisant of why they are using a collective term and to think through how this can help or hinder the understanding of a particular situation or issue.
As a result, BBC and Channel 4 have shifted to using the term ‘ethnically diverse.’ But what does this mean? It takes a while to find the definition - so for sake of clarity it means people from ‘Black, Asian and other Minority Ethnic groups’. I.e. non-white ethnicities.
So when a production is crewing up and asked about the ethnic diversity of its team or its on screen talent - this criteria will not be fulfilled, for example, by a person of Jewish heritage, or an Eastern-European member of the crew.
Doing diversity well has become a semantically complicated business.
It doesn’t help that the other major UK broadcasters aren’t all quite aligned on their definitions of ethnic diversity. Sky describes their ethnicity target as ‘BAME,’ ITV uses the terms ethnic minority and ‘Black, Asian & Ethnic Minority’, but no one seems to have reached a consensus.
Why? Probably because, as a species we haven’t quite nailed this whole communication thing yet. Language, culture and identity in the 21st century are fast evolving and finding a phrase or collection of words that adequately describe the breadth, brilliance, and literal diversity of non-white ethnicities in the world is proving to be bit of an enigma.
Could it be that we are still looking at it from the wrong angle? That trying to define a collection of ethnicities based on skin tone and Western conceptions of who constitutes a ‘minority’ may not be the answer?
At Gritty we don’t profess to have the perfect solution, but we have learnt a lot from the talent we work with about identity, culture and the importance of being able to self-describe rather than box-tick.
It has led us to take these positive steps to really sense-check and improve our language and communications around racial identity, and we’d encourage our industry peers to consider making these changes too.
Be specific in your ask
If you do not know someone’s ethnicity and it is either necessary or appropriate to ask, then do so. A great example is swapping the very loaded phrase “where are you from?” with “can I ask about your ethnic heritage?”
No one is under any obligation to tell you anything about their ethnicity, disability, gender identity or any other personal characteristic for that matter. But if you ask them how they identify in a respectful and sincere manner, you’re much more likely to get a positive response, and in the context of ethnicity will possibly learn something interesting about someone’s rich ancestral history.
Celebrate the diversity of different cultural identities
At Gritty our founder is British-Indian-Portuguese. We also have Sri Lankan, Jamaican, German, Nigerian, Welsh and Italian heritages among our team. Sharing and celebrating people’s stories and cultures can be a really positive experience for your team, and in creative practice it is the coming together of lots of different insights and experiences that often leads to the best ideas. Rather than being focused on ethnic ‘differences’, cultivating an inclusive environment where all ethnicities and perspectives are welcome is not just an enjoyable thing, it's business savvy.
Don’t use the acronym BAME in your job adverts, scripts or social posts.
If you want to recruit people from under-represented ethnic groups in TV - say that. You can do that by law in the UK - it’s called positive action. But above all recruit based on skills and potential.
There are lots of organisations out there who can help you do this really well, who know how to unearth untapped talent, Gritty is just one of them.
Above all else, if someone’s ethnicity isn’t necessary to a conversation, then it is not necessary to define them by it unless they do so themselves.
Explore the alternatives
The alternative to BAME that may be appropriate in certain settings, particularly while that term is still in the process of being challenged, is the global ethnic majority, or GEM. Whilst being specific should always be your go-to, particularly with an individual, there may be a time when using an umbrella term may be necessary.
For example, if your current broadcaster’s commissioning diversity guidelines set out a target for a certain number of, god forbid, ‘BAME’ or ‘diverse individuals’, consider using ‘individuals from the global ethnic majority’, ‘individuals of a GEM heritage’, or ‘ethnically diverse individuals’ when talking about talent from these groups. Don’t refer to them as ‘BAME talent’.
We heard a commissioner recently talking about working with ‘BAME indies’ and it really jarred. This person (in a position of power and authority) could have created a much more positive connection with the non-white members of the audience by thinking about their words and the impact they have. The phrase that maybe they could have used is ‘indies whose leaders are from non-white groups’ or even - ‘indies whose leaders are from the global ethnic majority’.
Change comes slowly - it’s not about finger-pointing - just acknowledging that even those in leadership roles are learning and don’t always get the language and tone right.
I’ll finish as I started: language is powerful, and ever evolving. No one has all the answers and even so, those answers are likely to change as our collective understanding progresses.
As an industry with immense capacity to influence and shape society, we also have great responsibility. We have to be willing to learn from our past mistakes or misconceptions, listen to those who are seriously affected by the semantics of ethnic identity, and modify our course.
Our resource page is a great place to find educational and informative content on all sorts of matters relating to the topics of ethnicity, disability, LGBTQI+ and more. From guidance, to best language practices, to funding and training, you’ll find a wealth of information at https://www.grittytalent.tv/resources
