Alternate job title: Butt hurt monitor.
Via The College Fix:
It was bound to happen — books are now getting an extra set of eyes to look over their content aside from the usual suspects like agents and editors: a so-called “sensitivity reader.”
According to a story in The Washington Post, these readers “give feedback based on self-ascribed areas of expertise such as ‘dealing with terminal illness,’ ‘racial dynamics in Muslim communities within families’ or ‘transgender issues.’”
Social media has played a role in the emergence of these readers as “writers are under increased scrutiny for their portrayals of people from marginalized groups” — more so if the author isn’t a member of the group.
Online anger regarding the portrayal of Native Americans even affected popular writer J.K. Rowling, while allegations of racism were launched at Divergent author Veronica Roth’s new book.