Editorial Style Guide
4.0 Biased Language
4.1.0 Avoiding gender-specific language
4.1.1 Generic he
4.1.2 Generic man
4.1.3 Universal or neutral terms
4.1.4 Alumni vs. alumnae
4.1.5 Academic status
4.2.0 Racial and ethnic diversity
Bias in any scholarly or professional writing is
unacceptable. As an institution, Northeastern has a strong commitment
to making its publications inclusive of all types of people, regardless
of gender, race, ethnicity, religion, disability, age, or sexual orientation.
This chapter is not an exhaustive reference on noninclusive language;
it concentrates on how to identify and remedy two prevalent forms: gender
bias and racial or ethnic bias.
In general, avoid language that includes an unnecessary reliance on
the generic pronoun he, the generic noun man, or other male-oriented
terms. And take care that all your publications provide an accurate
picture of the diversity of the University community.
4.1 Avoiding gender-specific language
Increasingly, using gender-specific terminology to refer to a mixed-gender
group is considered inappropriate. Many read such terminology as a form
of sexism.
Though less conspicuous, references such as male nurse or lady doctor
also indicate sexist thinking to many readers.
For detailed information on spotting and eliminating gender-specific
bias in writing, refer to Language, Gender, and Professional Writing:
Theoretical Approaches and Guidelines for Nonsexist Usage by Francine
Wattman Frank and Paula A. Treichler (New York: Modern Language Association,
1989) or other handbooks on nonsexist language.
4.1.1 Generic he
Avoid the generic he, his, and him when referring to antecedents that
do not indicate gender. To eliminate a generic he, you have several
options:
Make the antecedent plural.
Instead of: A speaker must be able to present his ideas clearly
to his listeners.
Write: Speakers must be able to present their ideas clearly to their
listeners.
Drop the pronoun.
A speaker must be able to present ideas clearly to listeners.
Change the point of view, when appropriate.
As a speaker, you must be able to present your ideas clearly to
your listeners.
Recast the sentence.
Communication is a shared process: From the speaker, it demands
an ability to present ideas clearly; from the listener, a willingness
to attend carefully.
Avoid using he or she constructions, which are generally awkward and
cumbersome.
Poor: The student must indicate his or her preferences by Wednesday.
Better: Students must indicate their preferences by Wednesday.
And avoid using a singular they in writing (even though such
constructions are fairly common in spoken language).
Incorrect:
To each their own.
Does everyone have their blue book open?
4.1.2 Generic man
To avoid misunderstanding as well as inadvertent stereotyping use man,
men, or mankind sparingly when a meaning is inclusive
of both women and men. Appropriate replacements might include person,
people, human being(s), human race, humankind, humans, men and women,
women and men, or society.
Also, consider replacing the verb to man with to operate or to staff.
4.1.3 Universal or neutral terms
Instead of focusing on the maleness or femaleness of an occupation,
use universal or neutral replacements for occupations or roles held
by both sexes.
Not acceptable:
businessman/businessmen
businesswoman/ businesswomen
female doctor
male secretary (et al.)
fireman
forefathers
mailman, postman
mistress of ceremonies
headmistress
poetess
sculptress
aviatrix
actress
policeman
salesman/salesmen/saleslady
Acceptable:
businessperson business leader(s), the business community
(Sometimes a more specific term conveys meaning more precisely:
executive, manager, industrialist, small-business owner, entrepreneur)
chairman (when referring to males) chairperson, chair, moderator
doctor
secretary
firefighter
forebears, precursors, ancestors
mail carrier, letter carrier, postal worker
master, -master (for both sexes)
poet
sculptor
aviator
actor
police officer
salesperson, sales representative
Exceptions
Historical terms or specialized vocabulary in context: yeoman, journeyman
printer
Terms expressing a genuine gender distinction in complementary roles:
hero/heroine
Terms that do not have an acceptable neutral form: statesman, middleman
4.1.4 Alumni vs. alumnae
When writing about individuals, use alumnus to refer to a male graduate,
alumna to refer to a female graduate. Use alumni when referring to a
group of male graduates or a group of female and male graduates. If
the group is all female, use alumnae.
He is an alumnus of Georgetown University.
Renata Arbeau is an alumna of Bentley College.
Bob and Trisha are Northeastern University alumni.
My mother and grandmother are both Spelman College alumnae.
4.1.5 Academic status
Use freshman/freshmen to refer to all first-year students,
regardless of gender. Use upperclass students, rather than
upperclassmen, to refer to male and female students above the freshman
rank.
Sandra Wu is a freshman. Her sister is an upperclass student.
4.2.0 Racial and ethnic diversity
It's self-evident that stereotyping on the basis of race or ethnicity
is unacceptable. But another consideration may not be so obvious: All
publications that promote or describe Northeastern should explicitly
reflect its diverse population by the students and faculty they profile,
the services they describe, the organizations they list, and so on.
Keep in mind a few style considerations related to the use of racial
and ethnic terms. When identifying race, do not capitalize black
or white. Do capitalize African American, Asian, Native
American, Latino, Chicano, Caucasian, and other specific racial
or ethnic groupings of people.
Note: According to most experts, Native American is preferred
to Indian; black and African American are
equally acceptable. Do not hyphenate compound ethnic terms such as African
American when used as nouns. Do hyphenate them when they are used
as adjectives (the single exception is Native American, which is never
hyphenated).
My best friend is African-American, French, and Native American.
When referring to female members of the Latino or Chicano communities,
use Latina and Chicana.
Justina and I went to the Latina social party last weekend.