A focused review of your manuscript by someone who checks whether your depiction of marginalized communities is accurate, respectful, and free from harmful stereotypes.
A sensitivity read is a specialized review where a reader with lived experience in a particular identity or culture examines your manuscript for representation issues. They look for stereotypes, inaccuracies, harmful tropes, and missed nuances in how you portray characters and communities outside your own experience. A sensitivity reader doesn't tell you what you can or can't write. They tell you where your portrayal might land differently than you intended.
Good intentions don't prevent harm. You can deeply respect a culture and still get important details wrong because you're working from outside knowledge rather than lived experience. A sensitivity read catches the blind spots that no amount of personal research can fully eliminate. It's not about censorship - it's about getting the story right, the same way you'd consult a medical professional to make sure your surgery scene is accurate.
A sensitivity reader gives you feedback, not permission. They're one perspective, not a spokesperson for an entire community. Take their notes seriously, but understand that the final creative decisions are still yours.
By the time your book is fully polished, it's painful to make structural changes. Get a sensitivity read during developmental revision, when you still have room to rethink character arcs and plot decisions.
A sensitivity reader isn't checking your grammar. They're evaluating your portrayal of specific experiences and identities. These are fundamentally different skills.
Research helps, but it has limits. Reading about an experience and living it are different things. A sensitivity reader catches the gap between what you learned from books and what someone actually experiences.
Review a chapter from your manuscript that features a character whose background differs significantly from your own. List every detail that relies on cultural, racial, religious, or identity-specific knowledge. For each item, note whether your source is personal experience, research, or assumption. Any item marked 'assumption' is a candidate for sensitivity review.