verb to remove or change parts of a text considered vulgar or offensive
In literature, the term 'bowdlerize' is used to describe the act of censoring or removing content deemed inappropriate or offensive, often to make a work more suitable for a particular audience.
Within discussions of censorship, 'bowdlerize' is used to describe the practice of sanitizing or altering content to comply with moral or political standards.
In the field of editing, 'bowdlerize' is used to refer to the process of removing or altering text to conform to certain standards or guidelines.
Writers may bowdlerize their own work in order to make it more suitable for a particular audience or to comply with certain censorship guidelines.
Editors may be tasked with bowdlerizing manuscripts to remove offensive or inappropriate content before publication.
Teachers may discuss the concept of bowdlerization when teaching literary analysis or the history of censorship in literature.
Librarians may encounter bowdlerized versions of classic texts in their collections and may need to explain the practice to patrons.