Gender-neutral Language

I recently updated a handout I first created in 1998.

A phrase like “a good policeman knows his duty” unnecessarily excludes
women. While it would be excessive to read history as if every general
use of “man” is sexist, today’s culture calls for alternatives.

Using
“police officer” instead of “policeman” is easy, but replacing every
“his” with “his or her” will sound tedious in a longer document.
Pluralizing is often a good solution (“good police officers know their
duty”), as is rephrasing to avoid the problem altogether (“a duty-minded police officer serves the community”).

 

• Avoid Stylistic Clunkers
• Special Terms for Women
• Gender-neutral Language Links

Examples and Quick Fixes
Revising
to avoid sexist language will help make your message more accessible to
readers who might otherwise feel excluded. But when you revise, avoid
the easy edits that introduce
stylistic clunkers like “his/her” and
“s/he,” or the questionable grammar of a mixed version such as “one
should wash their hands every day” (“one” is singular, but “their” is
plural).

Full Text: “Gender-neutral Language“