Tone policing is a way of invalidating what someone is saying because of how they’re saying it.

It goes beyond literal tone–too loud, too brash, too animated–and extends to using slang or African American Vernacular English and beyond. It often assumes that the speaker is uneducated, rendering their opinions or experiences as null and void.

EK Powell joins Erica to discuss tone policing and respectability politics, how content creators are pushing back and influencing media, and why you can’t address everybody.

In this discussion:

• How respectability politics and tone policing create an obligation to assimilate
• How content creators are pushing back against respectability politics
• How calling words slang or jargon applies different implied value to language
• Why showing up authentically means you can’t address everybody

Connect with Our EK Powell: 

• Instagram: @whatsgoodenglish 
• TikTok: @whatsgoodenglish
• YouTube: What’s Good English
• Support EK Powell on Patreon
• Contact EK Powell

Ready to dive deeper?

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Join us for conversations that address the questions and challenges that come up as you’re navigating visibility and values, Imperfect Allyship®, and the impact you want to create. Membership gets you access to live office hours, Q&A sessions with Erica and India, workshops, and our entire library of evergreen replays and resources.

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Resources:

• Listen to EK Powell on African American Vernacular English
• The origin of the term “Sea-Lioning”