Skin Tone, Gender, and Age
Only describe Skin Tone, Gender and/or Age if it is important for the reader to know in the context of the image.
Write with a Clear Structure on the General Guidelines page for more information on how to structure you description.
Skin Tone
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. 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 get as well so that readers can make their own interpretations.
In order to be objective, we suggest using the following terminology to describe skin tone:
- Light Skin Tone
- Medium-Light Skin Tone
- Medium Skin Tone
- Medium-Dark Skin Tone
- Dark 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, Asian, Middle Eastern, etc. but only if it can be determined in the surrounding text.
The above image is a good visual guide to help you see the difference. Starting from the left it goes from light, to medium-light, to medium, to medium-dark, to dark. Remember if it is clear in the book what ethnicity they are you can use it, but only if it is clearly stated.
a light skin tone with a tan. When in doubt ask on the Alt-text Q&A
Gender
You can identify the subject as male or female, man or woman, only 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.
Age
Avoid using general terms such as child or adult these are far to general to give a succinct description of the person in the image you are describing.
Avoid describing age by prescribing a number or the and exact decade because someone could appear young, but actually is in their fifties. Instead, begin you description using the term appears. For example, the man appears to be middle-aged in his forties or fifties.
Terms you can use include:
- baby
- toddler
- early elementary age
- pre-teen
- teen or teenager
- young adult in their twenties or thirties
- middle-aged, middle-aged in their forties or fifties
- older adult in their fifties or sixties
- Senior (if they appear older than 65)
