Non-Sexist Language

     Brought to you by the Purdue University On-Line Writing Lab.
     
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The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) suggests the
following guidelines:

Generic Use

Although MAN in its original sense carried the dual meaning of
adult human and adult male, its meaning has come to be so closely
identified with adult male that the generic use of MAN and other
words with masculine markers should be avoided.

Examples  Alternatives
--------  --------------

mankind   humanity, people, human beings
man's achievements  human achievements
the best man for the job the best person for the job
man-made  synthetic, manufactured, machine-made
the common man the average person, ordinary people
man the stockroom   staff the stockroom
nine man-hours nine staff-hours

Occupations

Avoid the use of MAN in occupational terms when persons holding the
job could be either male or female.

Examples  Alternatives
--------  -----------------

chairman  coordinator (of a committee or department), moderator (of
a meeting), presiding officer, head, chair
businessman    business executive
fireman   firefighter
mailman   mail carrier
steward and stewardess   flight attendant
policeman and policewoman     police officer
congressman    congressional representative

Pronouns

Because English has no generic singular--or common-sex--pronoun, we
have used HE, HIS, and HIM in such expressions as "the student . .
.  he." When we constantly personify "the judge," "the critic,"
"the executive," "the author," and so forth, as male by using the
pronoun HE, we are subtly conditioning ourselves against the idea
of a female judge, critic, executive, or author. There are several
alternative approaches for ending the exclusion of women that
results from the pervasive use of masculine pronouns.

     a.   Recast into the plural.

Example   Alternative
-------   -------------
Give each student his paper as     Give students their papers as
soon
soon as he is finished.  as they are finished.

     b.   Reword to eliminate gender problems.

Example   Alternative
-------   --------------
The average student is worried     The average student is worried
about his grade.    about grades.

c.   Replace the masculine pronoun with ONE, YOU, or (sparingly) HE
OR SHE, as appropriate.

Example   Alternative
-------   --------------
If the student was satisfied with  A student who was satisfied with
her
his performance on the pretest, he or his performance on the
pretest took
took the post-test. the post-test.

d.   Alternate male and female examples and expressions. (Be
careful not to confuse the reader.)

Example   Alternative
----------     --------------
Let each student participate.  Has Let each student participate. 
Has
he had a chance to talk?  Could he she had a chance to talk?  Could
he
feel left out? feel left out?

Indefinite Pronouns

Using the masculine pronouns to refer to an indefinite pronoun
(everybody, everyone, anybody, anyone) also has the effect of
excluding women. In all but strictly formal uses, plural pronouns
have become acceptable substitutes for the masculine singular.

Example   Alternative
-------   --------------
Anyone who wants to go to the Anyone who wants to go to the game
game should bring his money   should bring their money tomorrow.
tomorrow.

     
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     Last Updated: 5/22/96 by MA