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Practical Guide to Non-Sexist Language Manning the space shuttle, manning the phones, showing sportsmanship, practicing penmanship, doing a man-sized job...

...that is the language of a male-centered culture. Such language does not adequately serve our changing society. Enormous changes have been made in our culture and our language has not kept pace. Communication between people must be clear and accurate. Language is changing, creating new words that can change our culture, our society, our humanity. Although this Guide is not comprehensive, it offers suggestions for those who are striving for equality as well as clarity in language. Please e-mail us with additions or suggestions for this guide.

The use of man or mankind to represent humanity collectively is ambiguous since it is not clear whether it means men only or includes women (and children). They imply that the entire species is male. Suggested alternatives:

Example Alternatives man's achievement...................human achievement

mankind.............................humankind, humanity

manmade.............................manufactured, artificial, fabricated, made

manpower............................workpower, human resources, work force, staff

manned space flight.................human, with crew, staffed, piloted

unmanned space flight...............mission-controlled, without crew, unstaffed, unpiloted

man-hours...........................work hours

manhole.............................conduit, sewer or drain hole/opening/access

man the phones......................staff, operate, answer

man-size............................big, large, enormous, etc.

brotherhood of man..................human community

common man..........................average person

familty of man......................human race, civilization

goodwill to man.....................goodwill to people/humanity/humans/humankind

layman..............................layperson, nonprofessional, non- expert, novice

modern man..........................modern humanity

PRONOUNS: The masculine pronoun "he" fails to represent the female half of the species. Shown below are suggested solutions. They have been applied to the sentence "Everyone is expected to do "his" job well."

Pluralize to avoid gender-specific pronoun: "The employees are expected to do their jobs well" Rewrite the sentence without the pronoun: "Everyone is expected to do the job well." Use double pronoun construction: "An employee is expected to do her or his job well." Use they as singular with indefinite pronouns: "Everyone is expected to do their job well."

Most occupational and public office titles date from a time when only men performed these jobs. Contemporary women are involved in all occupations, making sex-labeled titles discriminatory. Occupational titles should describe the job and not the person doing the job.

Example Alternatives airline steward, -ess..............flight attendant

alderman...........................ward representative, aldermember

anchor man.........................news anchor, anchor

business man.......................business person

chairman...........................chair, head, chairperson

committeeman.......................committee member

congressman........................congressor, representative, senator, member of congress

councilman.........................councilmember

craftsman..........................crafter, artisan

draftsman..........................drafter, designer

fisherman..........................fisher, angler

foreman............................supervisor, superintendent

freshman...........................first-year college student, fresh student

handyman...........................odd-job worker

journeyman.........................(certified crafter) specify: carpenter, metalworker, etc.

landlord...........................owner

lineman............................line installer, line worker

mailman............................mail carrier

maintenance worker.................maintenance worker

newsboy............................newpaper carrier, newspaper vender

newsman............................newscaster, reporter

policeman..........................police officer

repair man.........................repair person

salesman...........................sales representative, salesperson

spokesman..........................spokesperson, speaker

TV Cameraman, -girl................camera operator

workmen............................workers

weatherman, -girl..................weathercaster, reporter, meteorologist (if applicable)

Neither sex has a monopoly on jobs or the designations that go with them:

Example Alternatives lady doctor.........................doctor

woman lawyer........................lawyer

male nurse..........................nurse

meter maid..........................meter attendant

female surgeon......................surgeon

housewife...........................homemaker

Note that the word woman is not an adjective. Likewise, the word man is not an adjective. Hence, it is incorrect to say: "woman driver", even when the gender of the driver is important. The correct form would be "female driver".

There are only two jobs that are gender specific. As attorney Florynce Kennedy points out, "Neither sex has a monopoly on jobs... except in the case of wet nurses and sperm donors."

When the description involves titles, jobs and marital status, treat women and men in a parallel manner:

Example Alternatives man and wife.........................husband and wife

James Jones and Mrs. Jones...........James and Mary Jones

Dr. John Jones and

Mrs. Mary Smith

(both are doctors).................Drs. John Jones and Mary Smith

"Man" in the middle: There are some compound words with the syllable "man" at the center. Here are some alternatives:

Example Alternatives craftsmanship........................craftship, artisanship

sportsmanship........................sportship

penmanship...........................script, handwriting

workmanlike..........................skillful, well executed

Workman's Compensation...............Worker's Compensation

Some phrases exclude females by assuming that allreaders or listeners are male. Write and speak to include both sexes when applicable:

Example Alternatives black tie gala......................semiformal

convention goers and convention goers and their wives.......................their spouses

you and your wife...................you and your spouse

farmer's wives......................spouses of farmers

-- Anonymous, October 05, 2000

Answers

"You're interesting, awesome, talented, beautiful, exciting..." : these being the reasons why he did *not* want to be involved with me. "It's OK that you're a strong woman, there's nothing wrong with that..." Gee, thanks for the tolerance. I suppose appreciation would be a bit much to ask?

We're supposed to starve ourselves; shave ourselves; use paint, expensive creams, and surgical knives in our faces to erase ourselves; avoid "too"-heavy weights to minimize ourselves...all to maintain that pre-pubescent, doe-eyed, blank slate of a look. We are discouraged from developing our minds to the point of being intellectually aggressive; our voices to the point of being heard loud and clear; our presence to the point of taking up full space; and our strength to the point of being a physical threat.

Men grow accustomed to and, over time, dependent on girls and women living at half-mast. So when men encounter women such as myself who run full steam ahead, I find they have a panic and bolt repsonse, seeking refuge in the arms of some safe young lass who plays by the rules (accompanying manual included).

In a society where a man's ego is cultivated to depend on a woman's secondary role, where a man's sense of self is based on a woman's *lack of* self, an indominable woman is an expendable woman. A woman with less is one a man wants more.

Can he handle all the socialized implications baring down on his ego? Will he?

For every doctrine with which society thunks women over the head, there is an inverse doctrine with which society thunks men over the head. I believe both sexes suffer from these limited roles. But I also believe that unlike men, women have gotten the short shaft in terms of the basics -- personal space, economic opportunity, and personal safety.

What really pisses me off is women downplaying or erasing our assets because men aren't doing their work. It makes things worse, girls! In a society where men can get sex without transformation, they'll never fucking change. What more, if we have to minimize ourselves to be around men, are we really "getting a man," or are we getting an insecure limp-ass -- a dead weight adding burden to our already burdened lives?

Once upon a time, not so long ago, I felt apologetic about amazing things about myself. Over and over again, men had treated my assets as liabilities, breaking up with me because of the many qualities distinguishing me from a doormat. Though I did not want or try to change myself, I did grow to feel shame for being powerful, outspoken, and passionate. I also came to feel beholden -- indebted and ingratiated on some level -- to men who *tolerated* those qualities in me, to men who did not try to steam-roll over them.

I once spoke with a man who claimed all men benefit from patriarchy --even the nice guys. "How?" I asked. "In a world where so many men rape women," he replied, "a man can get brownie points just for not being a rapist. A husband can get brownie points for doing something as basic as putting away dishes." The dude was right.

Because of the plethora of asshole men, I came to find myself searching for a *non-asshole.* How sad is that! Alas, I find the phenomenon is quite common: OK, he doesn't listen to me, but he doesn't hit me when he gets mad/No, I'm not attracted to him, but he listens to me/I sure as hell don't enjoy his company, but he splits the housework...Fuck that shit. I want -- no, I *demand* -- an artistic, spiritual, playful, intelligent, sensitive, drop-dead gorgeous man. On a motorcycle. So eat me.

During two years I took a break from men, I did a major attitude check. I decided it was time for me to treat *myself* as the hot goddess that I am, regardless of what kind of men may exist on the planet and what they may think of my bodacious being. "One of the things about equality is not just that you be treated equally to a man, but that you treat yourself equally to the way you treat a man." (Marlo Thomas).

-- Anonymous, October 25, 2000