When Language Is the First Casualty
Before people are erased, their words are.
History does not begin with violence.
It begins with silence.
Long before laws are passed, before funding is cut, before care is denied, something quieter happens: language is narrowed. Definitions disappear. Words are flagged as “divisive,” “ideological,” or “political.” Entire concepts are quietly removed from official guidance, research frameworks, grant applications, training materials, and public-facing documents.
What cannot be spoken cannot be defended.
What cannot be named cannot be protected.
For transgender people, disabled people, LGBTQ+ communities, people of color, and anyone whose safety depends on being accurately named, this is not theoretical. It is lived reality.
Language is access.
Language is survival.
Language is how someone explains themselves to a doctor, an educator, a social worker, a pastor, or a case manager.
Language is how data is collected.
Language is how harm is measured.
Language is how care is justified.
When language disappears, people do not.
They simply become easier to abandon.
Language Is Sacred
At Bloom Ministries, we understand language as sacred.
Scripture does not begin with force.
It begins with a Word.
Throughout the biblical tradition, naming is an act of creation. To name something is to recognize its existence, dignity, and relationship to the world. God names light. God names land. God names people. Jesus restores dignity by calling people by name when the world has reduced them to conditions, sins, or stereotypes.
To strip language away is not neutral.
It is a form of violence that hides behind bureaucracy and claims objectivity.
When systems remove words that name human reality, they are not becoming “less political.” They are deciding whose lives are speakable—and whose are not.
This Is Not Metaphor. It Is Documentation.
Under the Trump administration and its ideological extensions, hundreds of words tied to identity, justice, equity, health, gender, race, disability, and democracy were systematically removed, discouraged, flagged, or politicized across:
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Federal agencies
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Grantmaking processes
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Education systems
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Healthcare guidance
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Research institutions
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Public policy frameworks
This article is not symbolic.
It is documentary.
What follows is The Dictionary of Erased Dignity—a categorized, evidence-based record integrating reporting, grant-writing guidance, agency actions, and lived experience to expose how language suppression functions, who it harms, and why preserving words is an act of faith and resistance.
How Language Suppression Actually Works
Authoritarian systems rarely begin with open brutality.
They begin with control of meaning.
Language suppression often appears as:
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“Updated terminology guidance”
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“Neutral standards”
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“Avoiding politically sensitive language”
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“Streamlining definitions”
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“Ensuring objectivity”
But the pattern is consistent:
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Words that name identity are reframed as ideology
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Words that name inequity are labeled divisive
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Words that require institutional accountability are discouraged
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Funding, research, and services are denied under the banner of “neutrality”
This creates plausible deniability.
Institutions can say, “We didn’t ban anyone—we just removed the words.”
The impact is the same.
A Documented Example: Federal Grant Writing
This suppression is not abstract.
In 2025, grant-writing professionals reported that federal agencies circulated internal and leaked lists of discouraged or “trigger” words—particularly within scientific and public research funding. Proposals using certain terms were flagged for heightened scrutiny or rejection.
Words included:
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diversity
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inclusion
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equity
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gender
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LGBTQ
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racial justice
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trauma
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underserved
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systemic
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bias
Grant writers were advised to remove or euphemize these terms to remain competitive.
This placed nonprofits in an impossible position:
Tell the truth about the communities they serve—and risk funding.
Or sanitize language—and erase the very people their work exists for.
This is policy without legislation.
It is erasure without accountability.
How to Read the Dictionary of Erased Dignity
The words below are included because they have been:
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Removed from federal websites or guidance
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Flagged or discouraged in grantmaking
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Deleted from training or research frameworks
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Politicized to delegitimize lived reality
Not every word was banned by a single law. That is not how modern erasure works. Instead, this list reflects a coordinated pattern across systems.
I. Gender, Sexuality & LGBTQ+ Identity
These words were targeted because they name identities that resist rigid, state-enforced norms.
Transgender
Trans
Nonbinary
Gender identity
Gender expression
Gender diversity
Gender-affirming care
Gender dysphoria
Sexual orientation
LGBTQ / LGBTQ+
Queer
Intersex
Two-Spirit
Pronouns
Chosen name
Transition
Affirmation
When these words disappear, people do not.
They simply become harder to protect.
II. Race, Ethnicity & Racial Justice
These words were targeted because they frame inequality as structural, not accidental.
Race
Racism
Racial justice
Structural racism
White supremacy
BIPOC
Indigenous
Colonialism
Intersectionality
Historical oppression
Removing these words allows institutions to deny patterns that data repeatedly confirms.
III. Disability, Health & Neurodiversity
These words were targeted because they expose ableism and healthcare inequity.
Disability
Ableism
Accessibility
Neurodiversity
Chronic illness
Mental health
Trauma
PTSD
Health equity
Health disparities
When disability language disappears, barriers become invisible—and therefore acceptable.
IV. Equity, Inclusion & Structural Justice
These words were targeted because they require institutional change, not charity.
Equity
DEI
Marginalized
Underserved
Structural inequality
Institutional bias
Neutrality, in this context, protects existing power.
V. Democracy, Civil Rights & Social Systems
These words were targeted because they frame harm as systemic rather than individual.
Civil rights
Voting rights
Human rights
Due process
Disparate impact
Structural violence
Language suppression here weakens accountability without ever naming it.
What This Pattern Reveals
This is not random.
This is not coincidence.
Across healthcare, education, grants, research, and civil rights enforcement, the same pattern emerges:
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Name identity as ideology
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Remove language from official use
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Deny services under “neutrality”
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Claim objectivity while harm spreads
Language suppression allows injustice to wear the mask of professionalism.
Why This Work Is Faithful — Not Partisan
Bloom Ministries is a faith-rooted organization. That means we answer to conscience, not convenience.
This dictionary is not about political parties.
It is about truth-telling.
Scripture consistently sides with those whose names are erased, whose voices are silenced, and whose humanity is questioned. Justice is not an optional add-on to faith—it is central to it.
To preserve language that protects life is an act of worship.
A Living Record, Not a Closed Book
This dictionary is not finished.
As policies shift and suppression evolves, new words will be added. Bloom Ministries commits to maintaining this record as part of our broader work building digital sanctuaries where truth, dignity, and care are not negotiable.
Because dignity does not disappear when a word is removed.
It only becomes harder to defend.
Call to Action: Help Us Protect What Cannot Be Deleted
This work takes time, care, and courage.
If this article helped you understand what is happening, name something you have felt but could not articulate, or feel less alone—we invite you to support Bloom Ministries.
Your support sustains:
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Faith-rooted LGBTQ+ advocacy
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Disability justice education
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Public truth-telling in the face of erasure
👉 Donate: Donate Directly to Bloom
Together, we refuse silence.
Together, we preserve dignity.
