Present participle of 'civilize'; the process of making someone or something more refined, cultured, or socially advanced.
From 'civilize' plus the present participle suffix '-ing,' indicating an ongoing action. The root remains Latin 'civilis,' relating to civic and citizen matters.
'The civilizing mission' was the rallying cry of colonizers—they claimed they were bringing civilization to 'uncivilized' lands, a term that revealed terrible bias because every culture they encountered had its own deep civilization.
The gerund/present participle reinforces the missionary/colonial narrative of 'civilizing' as an ongoing process. This framing was gendered male (rulers, priests, soldiers) while women's sustaining labor was invisible.
Use 'developing,' 'building,' 'reforming,' or 'organizing' instead. These avoid the paternalistic overtones and the erasure of women's work.
["developing","building","reforming","organizing","establishing"]
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