Your Words Matter. So, Who Do You Exclude?

The U.S.-Mexico border between San Diego and Tijuana. I took this photo in Oct. 2016 while visiting on a work trip. We don’t need miles of fence and wall to create barriers between people. Words do that well enough.

I winced when I saw it. Alien.

That word is demeaning, ugly and offensive. Alas, it’s also legal because it’s written into federal law.

I’ve never liked the use of “alien” in reference to people who aren’t citizens but live on U.S. soil. It’s always felt wrong and divisive. Those bad feelings have intensified over the last few years as our political climate has grown more contentious and anti-immigrant rhetoric has grown more volatile.

“Alien” has a negative connotation that automatically “others” people. It subliminally sends a message to the foreign-born that they’re not as good as the rest of us. They’re different. Outsiders. Misunderstood. Mysterious. Ethereal. Untrustworthy.

That’s exactly why “alien” doesn’t belong anywhere on your website, blog, app, social media posts, email campaigns or forms, legal or not.

When I saw the word recently on a project I worked on, I knew it had to go. The client asked me to overhaul words in an online form. Edit some questions. Add some explainer text. Write whatever I thought was necessary to create a better, less confusing experience for the user.

(SN: This practice is called user experience writing, or just UX writing. Smart companies employ UX writers to create content that helps guide users through…