{"id":345,"date":"2014-07-25T20:09:58","date_gmt":"2014-07-25T20:09:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.candelalearning.com\/writershandbook\/?post_type=chapter&p=345"},"modified":"2014-07-25T21:13:50","modified_gmt":"2014-07-25T21:13:50","slug":"16-5-avoiding-sexist-and-offensive-language","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-mcc-styleguide\/chapter\/16-5-avoiding-sexist-and-offensive-language\/","title":{"raw":"16.5 Avoiding Sexist and Offensive Language","rendered":"16.5 Avoiding Sexist and Offensive Language"},"content":{"raw":" \r\n
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16.5<\/span> Avoiding Sexist and Offensive Language<\/h2>\r\n
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Learning Objectives<\/h3>\r\n
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  1. Recognize language that is considered sexist.<\/li>\r\n\t
  2. Avoid sexist language in your writing.<\/li>\r\n\t
  3. Recognize and avoid language that is offensive to any specific group of people.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<\/div>\r\nThe rights of women have changed dramatically over the past few decades. Slowly, written English has started to reflect those changes. No longer is it considered appropriate to refer to a \u201cfemale engineer\u201d or a \u201cmale nurse.\u201d It is also unacceptable to refer generically to a doctor as \u201chim,\u201d a teacher as \u201cher,\u201d or a politician as \u201chim.\u201d Such usage is considered to be sexist language<\/span><\/span>. You can use acceptable nonsexist language<\/span><\/span> by using passive voice (see the example in Section 16.2.5 \"Using Passive Voice\"), using plural formats (see the examples in Section 16.5.1 \"Using Plural Format\"), eliminating pronouns, switching to direct address, and choosing nonsexist terms whenever possible. An option of last resort is to use \u201chis or her,\u201d \u201chis\/her,\u201d \u201cher or his,\u201d or \u201cher\/his\u201d or even to alternate \u201chis\u201d and \u201cher\u201d throughout a text, though this path is stylistically awkward and usually unnecessary given the other options available to you.\r\n
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    Using Plural Format<\/h2>\r\nBy using plural nouns instead of singular nouns, you can switch from sex-specific singular pronouns to gender-neutral pronouns<\/span><\/span>.\r\n
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    Examples<\/h3>\r\nExample of sexist language using singular pronoun:<\/strong> A family member<\/em> who misses a holiday dinner will find he<\/em> has missed more than the food.\r\n\r\nExample of nonsexist language using plural pronoun:<\/strong> Family members<\/em> who miss holiday dinners will find they<\/em> have missed more than the food.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n \r\n
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    Revising to Eliminate Pronouns<\/h2>\r\nSince English includes many singular gender-specific pronouns<\/span><\/span>, another way to eliminate sexist language is to eliminate the use of pronouns.\r\n
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    Examples<\/h3>\r\nExample of sexist language using singular pronoun:<\/strong> A family member<\/em> who misses a holiday dinner will find he<\/em> has missed more than the food.\r\n\r\nExample of nonsexist language due to elimination of pronoun:<\/strong> A family member<\/em> who misses a holiday dinner misses more than the food.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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    Using Direct Address<\/h2>\r\nSometimes you can simply switch from third-person singular to second-person singular or plural and in the process make your tone more engaging.\r\n
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    Examples<\/h3>\r\nExample of sexist language using third-person pronoun:<\/strong> A student who forgets to bring his book to class will be assessed a ten-point penalty for his daily work.\r\n\r\nExample of nonsexist language using second-person pronoun:<\/strong> If you forget to bring your book to class, you will be assessed a ten-point penalty for your daily work.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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    Choosing Nonsexist Terms<\/h2>\r\nOne of the best methods of solving the sexist language problem is to choose nonsexist terms. With a little practice, you can learn to naturally use the currently preferred nonsexist language rather than terms that are no longer acceptable. Study the following table for some examples.\r\n
    \r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
    Formerly Acceptable<\/th>\r\nCurrently Acceptable<\/th>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/thead>\r\n
    businessman, businesswoman<\/td>\r\nbusinessperson, business executive<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    chairman, chairwoman<\/td>\r\nchairperson, chair, head, leader<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    congressman, congresswoman<\/td>\r\ncongressperson, legislator, member of Congress<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    fireman<\/td>\r\nfirefighter<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    mailman<\/td>\r\nmail carrier, mail delivery person, letter carrier, postal worker<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    man, mankind<\/td>\r\nhumankind, humans, people, Homo sapiens<\/em>, humanity, the human race<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    policeman, policewoman<\/td>\r\npolice officer, officer of the law, trooper<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    salesman<\/td>\r\nsales associate, salesperson, seller, vendor<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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    Avoiding Other Offensive Language<\/h2>\r\nWhether language is offensive depends entirely on the audience. If the audience or part of the audience views the wording as offensive, then the wording is offensive. To avoid inadvertent offensive text, adhere to the following general guidelines.\r\n