Sensitivity Editing

Hearing Loss - USA - China (Taiwan focus) - Egypt 

Hearing Loss

I have single-sided deafness and am a member of the hearing loss community. I lost a majority of my hearing overnight because of Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss. My left ear is completely deaf, and my right ear retains approximately 40% of its normal capacity. I am also sound sensitive and live with tinnitus. I am not a member of the deaf or signing community, but I am able to read hearing loss stories for sensitivity to my experience.

USA - China (Taiwan focus) - Egypt 

As an American international teacher, I have attended and led sensitivity trainings focused on Chinese, Taiwanese, and Egyptian culture. While I am not a member of these groups, I am trained in understanding and creating connections between them and an American readership. My vigorous training in the cross-cultural understanding between Taiwanese, Egyptian, and American culture allows me to communicate changes that help all groups feel understood and appreciated. 

I have completed sensitivity reports of a second-world fantasy inspired by contemporary and ancient Egypt, a few biblical retellings set in ancient Egypt, and an adult literary fiction set in Taiwan. With each of these sensitivity edits, I have given comments in the margins of the manuscript and a full explanatory report. These comments may include word choice notes, personal experience within a setting, and cultural points in which a diverse audience may need explanation to understand a concept’s full implication. 

With writer permission, I have also led focus groups of various individuals within these cultures to review passages for detailed reflection. 

I am transparent with my limitations as I am not Egyptian, Chinese, nor Taiwanese. However, this also puts me in a unique position to help writers of these groups realize what others unfamiliar with their culture may not automatically understand. I believe in transparency and truth; I will attempt to direct writers to another potential avenue of sensitivity editing (such as finding an editor of these groups with my connections or working in tangent with someone else) if I do not feel my expertise is up to the task.

Above all, editors advocate for every reader.