The power of language

Ophelia at Feminocracy observes something about the language used to discuss two very similar — and very tragic — cases in which a pregnant woman was murdered, her uterus cut open, and the fetus stolen.

The details provided about Kia Johnson’s death are gory and detailed. Words like “eviscerated” jump out at you as you read the account. They call her a corpse. They note that the foul smell emitting from the body that was in “moderate decomposition” is how they found her.
Bobbie Jo Stinnet is called a “slain mom“, a “pregnant woman” who had her “womb” cut open.
Kia is an “eviscerated pregnant teen.”

Yes, there were gory descriptions of Bobbie Jo Stinnett’s murder published, too. But I do notice a difference in tone — especially in the headlines — between the coverage of her and that of Kia Johnson. I think it’s less subtle when you see those headlines (all from CNN) next to the pictures of these women:

Maybe this particularly resonates with me because I work as an editor, and I see it as a heartbreaking example of why language matters. How word choice can humanize (and dehumanize). How racism can pervade what probably, to the writer of those CNN headlines, seemed like straightforward, cut-and-dried sentences.