The following guidelines were developed in 1987 at the Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC), which is sponsored by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). The guidelines offer ways you can avoid sexist language in your writing.



1. 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 whenever possible.

Examples: mankind, man's achievements, the best man for the job, man-made, the common man

Alternatives: humanity, human beings, people, human achievements, the best person for the job, synthetic, manufactured, crafted, machine-made, the average person



2. The use of man in occupational terms when persons holding the jobs could be either female or male should be avoided.

Examples: chairman, businessman, fireman, mailman, policeman

Alternatives: coordinator (of a committee or department), moderator (of a meeting), presiding officer, head, chair, business executive or manager, fire fighter, mail carrier, police officer.



3. 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," etc., 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 the masculine pronouns.


(a) Recast into the plural.

Example: Give each student his paper as soon as he is finished.

Alternative: Give students their papers as soon as they are finished.


(b) Reword to eliminate unnecessary gender problems.

Example: The average student is worried about his grades.

Alternative: The average student is worried about grades.


(c) Replace the masculine pronouns with one, you, or (sparingly) he or she as appropriate.

Example: If the student was satisfied with his performance on the pretest, he took the posttest.

Alternative: A student who was satisfied with her or his performance on the pretest took the posttest.


(d) Alternate male and female examples and expressions.

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

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



4. 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 usage, plural pronouns have become acceptable substitutes for the masculine singular.

Example: Anyone who wants to go to the game should bring his money tomorrow.

Alternative: Anyone who wants to go to the game should bring their money tomorrow.