@@Heidentweet@todon.eu There are actually several alt-text guides on the Web that recommend against mentioning race in image descriptions. Why? Because mentioning race, as opposed to mentioning the skin tone, may be perceived as racist. And assuming someone's race is as racist as it ever comes. Have some sources with links and, for your convenience, excerpts: https://www.cooperhewitt.org/cooper-hewitt-guidelines-for-image-description/ 4. Ethnicity and skin-tone When describing the skin tone of a person use non-ethnic terms such as “light-skinned” or “dark-skinned” when clearly visible. Because of its widespread use, we recommend the emoji terms for skin tone as follows: 🏻 Light Skin Tone, 🏼 Medium-Light Skin Tone, 🏽 Medium Skin Tone, 🏾 Medium-Dark Skin Tone, 🏿 Dark Skin Tone. Also, where skin tone is obvious, one can use more specific terms such as black and white, or where known and verified, ethnic identity can be included with the visual information: Asian, African, Latinx/o/a (also see gender), etc. https://www.sandstormdesign.com/blog/website-accessibility-101-5-best-practices-writing-alt-text-images Descriptions of skin color, not necessarily race or ethnicity. Use descriptions like light-skinned, medium-skinned, medium-light skinned, medium-dark skinned, or dark-skinned. https://apln.ca/best-practices-for-writing-image-descriptions/ Objectivity and People Describe what you can see such as physical appearances and actions rather than intentions based on your interpretations. We as humans tend to shy away from discussing ethnicity, race, gender, disability, and age for fear that we would misjudge and use the wrong language but remember that whether you want to or not, you can immediately see these characteristics when you look at a photo. This is information that people with print disabilities should receive, so that all readers have access to the same information and can therefore make their own interpretations. In order to be objective, we suggest using the following terminology to describe skin tone: Light Skin ToneMedium-Light Skin ToneMedium Skin ToneMedium-Dark Skin ToneDark Skin Tone This is the same system that is used to label emojis with different skin tones. You can also use terms such as Black, white, South-east Asian, Middle Eastern, etc. but only if this information is also given in the surrounding text. The same, by the way, goes for gender. A person's gender must never be assumed because that's sexist. A person's gender may only be mentioned under either of four conditions: The person is identified, and their gender is known from a definitely reliable source.The person is identified, they themselves have publicly declared their gender, and this is known, too.The person is identified, and they declare their gender in the context of your post.The person both gives the appearance of a certain gender and performs that self-same gender in the image. https://www.cooperhewitt.org/cooper-hewitt-guidelines-for-image-description/ 3. Gender No assumptions should be made about the gender of a person represented. Although, where gender is clearly performed and/or verifiable, it should be described. When unknown, a person should be described using “they, them” and “person” and their physicality expressed through the description of their features, which inadvertently tend to indicate masculine or feminine characteristics. The use of masculine and feminine are problematic and should be avoided unless necessary for describing the performance of gender. https://www.sandstormdesign.com/blog/website-accessibility-101-5-best-practices-writing-alt-text-images Descriptions of gender presentation instead of assuming someone’s gender. Use descriptions like female-presenting instead of woman, female-presenting child instead of girl, or male-presenting instead of man. There are many different words used for gender expression! https://apln.ca/best-practices-for-writing-image-descriptions/ Objectivity and People [...] You can identify the subject as male or female, man or woman, if it can be clearly identified. Try to describe the physical characteristics and avoid using the terms “masculine” or “feminine” since it is more interpretive than descriptive. There is a delicate balance to strike between inclusive language and robust description; do your best, and ask for opinions from others if you need to. #Long #LongPost #CWLong #CWLongPost #AltText #AltTextMeta #CWAltTextMeta #ImageDescription #ImageDescriptions #ImageDescriptionMeta #CWImageDescriptionMeta #AltTextTips #ImageDescriptionTips #FediTips