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Avoiding Sexist Language In the past, people always wrote of "he" and "mankind" and "policemen." Times have changed. These words are offensive to many people and therefore unacceptable. Sometimes, though, it's hard to know which words to use instead. Here are some rules and examples. Guidelines 1.
Don't say postman, but don't say postwoman, either. Each is sexist. Try to leave out genders entirely, and use letter carrier. Here are some more examples: | Wrong | Right | | Co-ed | Student | | Housewife | Homemaker | | Businessman | Business executive | | Fireman | Fire fighter | | Chairman | The chair, Head | | Salesman | Sales representative | | Policeman | Police Officer | 2.
If you absolutely have to use a gender modifier, always use woman or female, never girls (unless they are girls) or ladies. Example: postgirl postlady postwoman. 3. Try to reword sexist sentences like this:
Wrong: Every student should return his books.
Right: All students should return their books or Books should be returned by each student. 4. Refer to men and women in the same way. | Wrong | Right | | Mr. Brown and Jane | Mr. Brown and Ms. Thompson
or Jim and Jane | | Jim's a great manager and Sally has lovely green eyes | Jim's a great manager and Sally's a top-notch construction worker
or Jim has wavy brown hair and Sally has lovely green eyes. | 5. Try not to use Mrs. Or Miss a lot, it's best not to mention marital status. If you absolutely have to, use Ms. or find out what the woman prefers. 6. Instead of using he or him use - one
- you
- he or she
- hers or his
- him or her
- etc.
7. When giving examples, alternate male-female (Some people even alternate the gender of God. You don't have to go that far though...) Contributing to the Resource Book
The Resource Book depends on users to expand and improve. For details on how you can participate, visit the Contributions page. | 
