Suggestions for Using Inclusive Language

Language is a powerful tool that shapes our perceptions of the world around us and how others view us as individuals. The Bethel Community supports and encourages the use of inclusive language. Many academic disciplines require this standard for scholarly work.

Culture and Race

1. The following suggestions will help you avoid offensive or stereotypical references to various cultures and races in writing and speaking:
2. Depict a variety of lifestyles. Avoid putting people only in stereotypical settings. Not all Africans live in little villages; millions of them live in cities. Try to offer genuine insights into the lifestyles and cultural settings of all people. Avoid portraying Asian, Black, Hispanic, or Native American people as functioning solely in service occupation roles.
3. Acknowledge the cultural diversity among people from the same racial or ethnic background. For example, it is incorrect to portray everyone with a Hispanic surname as a Spanish-speaking person or to assume that every Asian person is a recent immigrant and cannot speak or write English.
4. Use realistic pictures and illustrations. In illustrations, draw characters as individuals with physical characteristics of a particular race, not simply as northern Europeans with darkened skin. Use positive examples of men and women from all racial, ethnic, and national backgrounds.
5. Avoid generalizing one feature to all members of a racial or ethnic group: e.g., the notion that all people on welfare are Black, crime occurs only in certain communities, the suburbs are populated only by white people, all Indians are Hindu, all Arabs are rich, etc. Avoid judgments against certain races or ethnic groups. Do not imply that a particular racial or ethnic group is “a problem.” Do not assume that all people who are not white are poor.
6. Be conscious of sources used in research, writing, or speaking. Many publications considered authoritative in such fields as history, religion, or social studies are written from a white, European or U.S. male perspective and have not considered the interests and contributions of other racial and ethnic groups. 

Age

Care in choice of words can encourage people of all ages to cultivate a fully rounded view of life as a continuum. 

1. Rather than stressing the needs and experiences of separate age groups (children, teenagers, young adults, middle–aged people, elderly), writers and speakers can point to common experience through the life span.
2. Biases against aging are often so deeply ingrained in our culture that they are difficult to identify. As a result, they may unintentionally creep into our writing.

Class

Classism is shown in the way some people are set “above” others because of education, occupation, or family background. Others sometimes are viewed as “below” them and may be overlooked or discounted.  

1. Choose words that do not put down or imply superiority over another person or group. Let your language reflect that human worth is not measured in terms of economic status or employment.
2. Do not assume that lack of formal education is synonymous with ignorance, illiteracy, lack of intelligence, character, worth or drive. Avoid using “illiterate” as a put-down. 
3. Do not use language that demeans residents of certain geographic locations.

Disabilities

A person with fully functioning arms and legs is not inherently better than a person with less dexterity or mobility. Feelings and attitudes of mental or physical superiority obstruct our relationships with our neighbors. “Disability” is a general term for a permanent or semi-permanent condition that may interfere with major life activities: seeing, walking, hearing, learning, lifting. It may be physical, mental or sensory in nature. 

1. The preferred use is as a descriptive noun. The person is more important than the condition. Refer to “people with disabilities,” “a person with. . .,” “a woman who has,” “a man who is. . .” Avoid “the handicapped,” “the crippled,” “the deformed,” “the invalid,” or “the disabled.” 
2. When one function is impaired, do not imply that other functions are impaired as well.
3. Seek language that presents a positive appreciation of the person. Refrain from “pity” language. Avoid emotional descriptions of disabilities such as “unfortunate.” Do not say that a person is “afflicted with” or “victim of” a disability. Emphasize abilities by saying that a person “uses a wheelchair,” rather than indicating a person “is confined to a wheelchair.” Say a person “walks with crutches,” not “is crippled.”

Gender

There are many substitutes which may be used in the generic sense for the words “man,” “mankind,” and other words that now have an exclusively male connotation. Among these are “humanity,” “humankind,” “human beings,” “humans,” “persons,” “people,” “all” and “everyone.” The English language lacks an inclusive third-person singular pronoun that signifies either male or female, except for the more formal “one.”   

1. Try these ways of solving pronoun problems which use as an example the phrase “A man shows his faith in God by. . .”
   1. Replace the masculine pronoun with “one/one’s” (formal), “you/your” (informal), “she or he/her or his,” “their/theirs,” “I/my,” “One shows one’s faith by. . .,” “A person shows her or his faith by. . .”
   2. Recast it into the plural “People show their faith by. . .”
   3. Recast into the passive voice: “Faith in God is shown by. . .”
2. Rewrite a sentence to eliminate an unnecessary pronoun. Change, “The average American drinks his coffee black,” to “The average American drinks black coffee.” 
3. Alternate male and female expressions and examples. Change, “We criticize people, saying, ‘he’s too forceful,’ or ‘he’s too timid,’” to, “We criticize people, saying ‘she’s too forceful,’ or ‘he’s too timid.’”
4. Choose actual or hypothetical people in order to illustrate a point. Change, “An effective minister will use dramatic technique to communicate his message,” to “Mary Smith uses dramatic techniques to communicate her message, which make her sermons more effective.”
5. Nouns that refer to women and/or men which include the word “man” or “men” may be replaced with singular or plural neutral terms. It should never be assumed that any occupation or group is composed only of men. The following list includes some nouns with male gender connotation and suggests how they may be replaced. A few of these have been shown with their respective plurals; most of them can be pluralized relatively easily. 
   1. Instead of chairman/men, use chair, head, presiding officer, leader, coordinator, moderator, chairperson, the committee chaired by. . .
   2. Instead of clergyman/men, use clergy, member/members of the clergy, minister/ministers, elders, pastor, clergywomen and men
   3. Instead of layman/men, use laity, people in the congregation, members of the congregation, laypeople, laypersons.
   4. Instead of brothers in Christ, use sisters and brothers, Christians, friends
   5. Instead of workman, repairman, use worker, someone to repair the . . ., or specifically the plumber, the electrician, etc.
6. Avoid using the word “woman” as an adjective before a title, as in “woman minister” or “woman teacher” unless there is a specific intention to point to the gender than to the role. For instance, it is not necessary to say, “A woman doctor raised the issue of proper anesthesiological procedure,” or, “a woman board member raised the issue of inadequate student financial aid packages.” The issue raised has nothing to do with the fact that a woman raised it. On the other hand, however, there are times when it is perfectly legitimate to use “woman” as an adjective if the intention is to designate gender. For example, a questionnaire meant only for students who are women may appropriately be titled “Questionnaire of Women Seminarians.”
7. When designating men and women in the same sentence, parallel terms should be used so that women are not put into an inferior or dependent position. For instance, a man should not be identified by gender and woman by role, as in “man and wife.”
8. Many people find the terms “ladies” or “girl” condescending when used as substitutes for “women” or “woman.” Identify women by their own names, not by their roles unless there is a specific need for it. This is important in all kinds of lists, registries, and directories. A woman’s first name should be as immediately available as her husband’s: “Charles and Isabel Trevens” or “Mr. and Mrs. Trevens” or “The Trevens.” 
9. Reference to a woman’s marital status should be avoided except when it is specifically to the point. When using the terms “Ms.,” “Mrs.,” or “Miss,” the form that the particular woman in question prefers should be used. If this preference is not known, use the term which does not designate marital status, “Ms.”

Anecdotes, illustrations, and humor can help to make lectures, addresses, and writing memorable. It is important that these reinforcements of the message encourage readers and listeners to see themselves and others as full human beings. The negative impact of stereotypic prejudices needs to be recognized and avoided. The following are suggestions about using these linguistic devices in ways that are helpful in affirming the full equality of women and men.

1. When speaking or writing, alternate stories about men with stories about women. In hypothetical situations, use a female example alternately with a male example.
2. Avoid humor based on generalizations regarding gender. Avoid jokes about dumb jocks, hysterical females, and motor mouths, which undermine the intellectual ability, emotional stability, or dignity of people.
3. It is stereotypical to always portray men as powerful and successful and women as dependent and supportive. This kind of stereotyping can lead to the description of a man as being “forthright and decisive” when a woman with the same qualities might end up being described as “domineering and pushy.”
4. To deprecate a person by describing her or him in terms of the opposite sex is unacceptable as in “tomboy” or “sissy.” This kind of stereotyping also occurs when illustrations are not carefully chosen. Girls should not always be shown only playing with dolls, nor boys only with trucks. All boys do not hate English and excel in math, just as all girls do not hate math and excel in English. Men should not be the only ones who are mentioned or pictured as scientists, ministers, executives, breadwinners. Women are not only teachers, nurses, and secretaries. Provide a wide variety of options and role models to encourage wide participation in all activities rather than presenting choices limited by gender-linked role stereotyping. 
5. Language should clearly indicate that both women and men are involved in the activities and accomplishments of the human race. Avoid, “the average person is proud of his heritage,” and use “most people are proud of their heritage.”
6. Do not imply that certain jobs are limited to either man or women. When talking about occupations, avoid personal pronouns that may make unwarranted assumptions. Words and illustrations should show both women and men functioning as leaders. 
7. Seek equity in all references. Do not identify women by marital status, number of children and other extraneous information when parallel treatment is not accorded to men. Vary the order of references—his and hers, women and men, wives and husbands.
8. Do not assign emotional or moral roles exclusively to one sex. Both women and men may need care and protection, both can be spiritually and morally strong, both can be competent and independent. Seek ways to show strong, independent women; avoid showing men as unemotional or always tough and uncaring.

This document, provided by the Family and Gender Equity Committee of the CAS faculty, is based on suggested formats gleaned from a number of sources (most notably Fuller Theological Seminary and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America).

Office of People and Culture