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ISSUE NO. 31
The New York Times has published a list (incomplete) of words that government agencies have been urged to limit or avoid in official documents. In this list of banned words, we find: activism, climate crisis, diversity, feminism, gender, inclusion, indigenous communities, intersectional, LGBTQ, minorities, pregnant person, privilege, race, social justice, trans, women.
Thought translates into words, and words into action. Deciding not to call something (a movement) or someone (a group of people) by the right name means refusing to legitimize them, effectively wanting to cancel their existence. If I don’t name you, you don’t exist.
Donald Trump has turned the battle against so-called woke culture into one of the cornerstones of his political rhetoric. The term woke—originally used to indicate greater awareness of social and racial injustices—refers, in Trump’s usage, to a progressive ideology that he claims threatens traditional American values. He has attacked educational programs addressing systemic racism and gender diversity, and he has banned diversity and inclusion training in federal agencies. He has also labeled woke culture a threat to freedom of speech and patriotism, accusing liberal elites and academic institutions of wanting to rewrite American history. This rhetoric has found broad support among his conservative base, fueling a culture war that continues to shape the political debate in the United States.
Recently, the Trump administration began a wide-ranging review of the content on the websites of U.S. federal agencies, aiming to remove references to concepts such as diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), as well as topics related to gender identity and climate change. The New York Times analyzed over 5,000 pages from federal agencies’ websites, both before and after Trump took office, and found that more than 250 pages contained evidence of words from the Times’ own list being deleted or altered. Terms like climate change were replaced with expressions such as climate resilience, while LGBTQ was shortened to LGB, and pregnant people was modified to pregnant women. Even historical documents and older pages were updated to reflect these new directives; in some cases, it appears these changes were incorrectly applied, such as removing the word diverse from the description of the Department of the Interior’s museum collections.
These actions form part of a broader administration strategy to eliminate DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) initiatives within the federal government. Such initiatives, policies, and programs aim to foster more equitable and inclusive workplaces and institutions, ensuring representation and opportunities for groups historically disadvantaged or discriminated against, such as ethnic minorities, women, LGBTQ+ individuals, and people with disabilities. An internal report by the Department for Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, outlined a three-phase process to carry out this purge.
The first phase, which began on January 20, 2025, involved rescinding executive orders and initiatives related to DEI, dissolving dedicated offices, and removing related web content. The second phase, from January 21 to February 19, focused on identifying and removing employees involved in DEI activities. The third phase, from February 20 to July 19, calls for large-scale layoffs of personnel deemed even indirectly associated with DEI.
These measures have raised concerns among experts and observers, who interpret them as an ideological attack on federal agencies rather than a genuine effort to save taxpayers’ money.
The Trump administration has started banning hundreds of books and educational materials from schools and libraries managed by the Department of Defense that address topics related to gender ideology, equity, and diversity. This measure was implemented in response to two executive orders signed by President Trump on January 30 and 31, 2025, intended to eliminate diversity and inclusion policies. The aim of these policies is to defend women from the extremism of gender ideology and restore biological truth in the federal government and end illegal discrimination and restore merit-based opportunities.
The banned books include works that deal with women’s empowerment, Black people’s experiences, migrants, and the LGBTQ+ community. Titles such as Becoming Nicole by Amy Ellis Nutt, which tells the story of a family accepting their transgender daughter, and No Truth Without Ruth by Kathleen Krull, a biography of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a champion of women’s rights, are among those censored. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini and Freckleface Strawberry by Oscar-winning actress Julianne Moore have also been removed from school libraries. In addition to banning books, the Department of Defense is also eliminating numerous cultural events—such as Black History Month—and disbanding groups like the Latin Culture Club or the Society of Women Engineers at military academies.
Banning and censoring books is not new in America. However, under this administration and the current power of conservative forces, it is on the rise. According to the American Library Association, book restrictions have grown significantly, from 729 titles in 2021 to 1,651 in 2022. This increase is largely attributed to conservative political groups seeking to censor works about LGBTQ+ and Black communities, as well as themes like race, racism, and sexuality. A PEN America report found that over 10,000 books were prohibited in public and academic libraries throughout the United States during the 2023–2024 school year, with Florida and Iowa (both Republican-majority states) leading in such restrictions.
The censorship has affected both classic literature and contemporary works, often focusing on African American people, LGBTQ+ individuals, and women, as well as issues like sexual violence. Although Trump sees himself as a defender of free speech under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, these measures have drawn criticism from political figures and freedom of expression organizations, which view them as forms of censorship and constraints on educational freedom.
Historically, dictatorships have used language as one of their first and most effective instruments of repression: they manipulate vocabulary to rewrite reality, eliminate words expressing dissent or diversity, and impose uniform language to limit critical thinking.
From the Newspeak in Orwell’s 1984 to the 20th-century totalitarian regimes, controlling language has always been a means to control society itself. Nazism did away with words related to democracy and freedom, replacing them with expressions emphasizing obedience and Aryan supremacy. In the Soviet Union under Stalin, language was heavily regulated and altered to fit communist propaganda. Terms associated with the bourgeoisie or religion were banned, while the vocabulary was enriched with ideological expressions that glorified the party.
The Soviet regime even rewrote history through language, erasing words and concepts related to political enemies to the point that figures like Trotsky were literally removed from textbooks and public discourse. In China, during the Cultural Revolution, Mao Zedong imposed ideologically compliant language, eliminating words and concepts that could threaten communist thinking. In North Korea, language is strictly controlled to praise the Kim dynasty and prevent any form of dissent: words related to democracy or human rights simply do not exist in the official discourse.
During the Fascist regime, Benito Mussolini imposed strict control over the Italian language, prohibiting the use of foreign words and modifying the lexicon to suit the regime’s propaganda. Anglophone terms like film and cocktail were replaced with pellicola and polibibita, while French words such as garage and boutique became autorimessa and negozio di mode. Even people’s names were Italianized: Jimmy had to become Gimmi. This linguistic censorship was not just an expression of extreme nationalism; it was also a means of controlling collective thought, limiting external cultural influence, and reinforcing the identity imposed by the regime.
Nothing about what Trump is now doing with this new administration is really new; it simply aligns with what has been done extensively in the past. All these dictatorships show how controlling language is a fundamental strategy for an authoritarian regime: removing words means removing ideas, reducing the capacity for critical thought, and making opposition more difficult. If these policies continue unchecked, it may not be long before we find ourselves living in the dystopian future of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale.
ISSUE NO. 31
Lampoon is a cultural magazine.
Culture today means sustainability – in its honest meaning.
Culture has always been about human respect, tolerance. It’s not only about accepting human diversity but it’s about searching for the beauty of every human peculiarity.
Inclusion is the first value that defines art. Culture today means one thing only: to be part of a community, to think as a community.
Reading Lampoon, you see that these themes are smoothly aligned. A good part of the articles’ content discusses practices to restore our environment and stories about understanding the others.
Reading Lampoon, you find a dialogue between science and creativity. From sharp and edgy photo sessions to fashion, architecture, technology – the commitment is dedicated to a future that is all about us – together.
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