Cultural advisers or literary censors? The rise of "sensitivity readers" in question

Behind-the-scenes proofreaders whose work and recommendations sometimes lead to heated debates.

Present for several years already in the Anglo-Saxon literary world, the

identify cultural inconsistencies, inappropriate stereotypes and flush out, in the manuscripts entrusted to them, the slightest passages likely to offend contemporary sensibilities.

Vindicated by certain authors when others, wanting to be in tune with the times, consider their work welcome, these proofreaders of a new genre have long remained confined to children's literature.

It is no longer the case.

The profession has been talked about again on the occasion of the release of revised and corrected editions of books by Roald Dahl (

) and Ian Fleming (

).

The prose of these two mid-twentieth-century authors has been modified to be more suited to current sensibilities.

In Roald Dahl, for example, characters are no longer

or

;

while in Ian Fleming, the changes concern the description deemed racist of black characters.

Accusations of censorship immediately flared up among those who say they fear a sanitized literature, sweetening the past as well as the present.

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Quest for authenticity

Who are these

 ?

Mostly freelance workers, often (little) paid by the word or number of pages by writers or publishers concerned about the accuracy of descriptions in their texts.

Or, critics of the practice accuse, of avoiding at all costs the disastrous consequences of a possible social media storm in the event of a misstep.

The proofreaders have various specialties according to their origins, religion or experience:

,

,

,

,

,

"

," defended AFP Patrice Williams Marks,

" based in Los Angeles.

sensitivity reader

Lola Isabel Gonzalez, another reviewer also based in Los Angeles, says, "

."

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If she judges that

, the British teacher and author Kate Clanchy is much more circumspect when it comes to adults.

The latter

, argued last year the one whose memoirs were submitted to "

" after their publication, because accused of being racist and validists - it that is, discriminatory against people with disabilities.

Constant anxiety about hurting other people's feelings inhibits spontaneity and stifles creativity.

Lionel Shriver, American writer

For the American writer Lionel Shriver (

), one of the fiercest critics against them, the proofreaders are nothing more or less like a

.

But

, she castigated in the

in 2017. The editors

,” she squeaked again last month on the ultra-conservative British channel GB News.

In France, a country very resistant to this type of proofreading, the essayist Raphaël Enthoven denounced in 2020 these "

” as

.

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Generation effect

But in the name of authenticity and anti-racism, writers are favorable to these proofreaders.

This is the case of the American Adele Holmes, who took the initiative to call on Patrice Williams Marks for her first book (

, 2022).

The latter identified, she explains to AFP,

.

hair

, she suggested that she use the word

instead to stick to reality.

Read alsoRewriting by Roald Dahl: soon Balzac or Voltaire?

Adele Holmes says the proofreader has

.

As for the criticisms, she says she thinks they come from people who feel

by minority claims, in a publishing world known to be predominantly white.

For Lola Isabel Gonzalez, this rise of sensitive proofreaders reflects the evolution of a part of society.

," says this proofreader, rejoicing that

questions established facts.

," while

," she says.