OUTDATED TERM Alderman USE INSTEAD Aldermember Aldermember, ward representative Anchorman/woman Anchor, news anchor Authoress Author Aviatrix Aviator Bachelor’s degree Undergraduate degree Black tie gala Semiformal Brotherhood of man Human community Businessman/woman Businessperson Chairman/woman Chair, head, presider City fathers City leaders Cleaning woman Housecleaner, office cleaner Clergyman Cleric, member of the clergy Committeeman/woman Committee member Common man Average person Congressman/woman Congressional representative, member of Congress
Councilman/woman Councilmember Craftsman Artisan, crafter Craftsmanship Artisanship, craftship Draftsman Designer, drafter Family of man Civilization, human race Fireman Fire fighter Fisherman Angler, fisher Forefathers/mothers Ancestors, forebears Foreman Superintendent, supervisor Founding fathers Colonists, founders Freshman First-year student, newcomer Gentlemen’s agreement Honorable agreement, informal agreement Goodwill to men Goodwill to all, to people Governess Child-care attendant, instructor Handyman Odd-job worker Heiress Heir Hostess Host Housewife Homemaker Journeyman Certified crafter, or specify carpenter, metalworker, etc. Lady luck Luck Landlord/lady Owner Laundress Laundry worker Layman Layperson, nonprofessional Lineman Line installer, line worker Longshoreman Stevedore Maid Housekeeper, house worker
Maiden name Birth name Maiden voyage First voyage, premier voyage Mailman Mail carrier Maintenance man Maintenance worker Man and wife Husband and wife, married couple, wife and husband, spouses Male nurse Nurse Manhole Conduit, drain hole, sewer Man-hours Work hours Man in the street Average person, ordinary person Mankind Humanity, humankind Manmade Artificial, manufactured, synthetic Manned spaceflight Piloted, staffed, with crew Manpower Human resources, staff, workforce Man-sizeBig, large, sizable Man the phones Operate, staff Master bedroom Largest bedroom Master’s degree Graduate degree Meter maid Traffic officer Modem man Modem humanity Newsboy Newspaper carrier, newspaper vendor Newsman/woman Newscaster, reporter Old wives tale Superstitious folklore Penmanship Script, handwriting Policeman/woman Police officer Proprietor/proprietress Owner Repairman Repairer Salesman/woman Sales representative, salesperson
Sculptress Sculptor Seamstress Sewer, tailor Spokesman/woman Speaker, spokesperson Sportsmanship Fair play, sportship Stewardess Flight attendant Tomboy Active child TV cameraman Camera operator Watchman Guard Weatherman Meteorologist, reporter, weathercaster Woman’s intuition Hunch, intuition, premonition Working man/woman Average wage earner, average worker Workmanlike Skillful, well executed Workmen Workers Unmanned spaceflight Mission controlled, unpiloted, unstaffed, without crew Usherette Usher W AYS TO A VOID U SE OF THE EXCLUSIVE P RONOUN “H E” Use the plural if possible Change A policeman should be helpful and wear his uniform with pride to Police o cers should be helpful and wear their uniforms with pride If the plural won’t work, try to nd another way to say the same thing without using any pronoun or gender-marked word The stage makes heavy demands on each performer Note how this example uses the gender-neutral term “performer.” The example could be extended to a pronoun usage The stage makes heavy demands on performers, requiring each to contribute everything possible.” Here “each” replaces the restrictive him The less preferable “his/her” construction can also be used Every carpenter should bring his or her own tools “One” is also a useful word to facilitate such choices One needs to give one’s all to the stage.” Other devices focus lesson noun forms and more on verb constructs to avoid possibly biased language. The passive voice can eliminate an object of a sentence that
would otherwise have to be gender marked Uniforms should be worn with pride, and helpfulness should be made top priority Of course, the inherent weaknesses of the passive voice are evident in such examples. Still, the potential for sexist bias has been eliminated. Imperative and reflexive constructions also can help Wear your uniform with pride and be helpful But this commanding tone may not always be appropriate. One might try O cers should be helpful at all times and should wear their uniforms with pride Here a genderneutral word (o cers”) in the plural is combined with there exive themselves to avoid talking about policemen “policewomen,” “policepersons,” or any less-than-general pronoun. T ITLES The same care should be applied to the use of titles or honori cs “Drs. Smith and Jones” might include one man and one woman, and the woman might be o ended if she is Jones and is subsumed in Smith’s title. Better to say Dr. Smith and Dr. Jones.” Similarly, it is inappropriate to address Mr. Jones and his wife the woman who married Mr. Jones deserves her own honori c, be it Ms. or Mrs. (Ms. rather than Mrs. is generally preferred). When works or achievements are attributed to more than one person, it is important to take care that all titles are equivalent and fully stated so that recognition is equally distributed. WRONG An article was published by Dr. Jones and Milly Smith Unless you know Milly Smith, and she has speci cally requested that she be referred to in precisely this way, write An article was published by Dr. Jones and Ms. Smith Unless you can supply Dr. Jones with a rst name or initial, don’t do so for Ms. Smith either. Shake, shook, shaken. An irregular verbin its main, past tense, and past