Biased Writing Alternatives

mankind humanity, people, human beings

man’s achievements human achievements
manmade synthetic, manufactured, machine-made
the common man the average person, ordinary people
man the stockroom staff the stockroom
nine manhours nine staff-hours

Bias-free language
A list of terms with suggested substitutions.
adopted Do not use unless it's important
to the story.
bellman bellhop
career woman Be specific: doctor, artist, truck
driver, etc
chairman (when chair, chairperson. Or chairman
used for everyone) and chairwoman (not chairman
and chairperson)
confined to a uses a wheelchair, is in a
wheelchair wheelchair
craftsman craftsperson, artisan (or potter,
woodworker, knitter, etc)
deaf mute deaf (See also hard-of-hearing)
Dear sir Use a specific name, if possible,
or perhaps “Dear Members of the
Admissions Office.” As a last
resort, use the rather
awkward Dear Madam or
Sir or Dear Sir/Madam.
the elderly older people, old people [This is
okay -- "old" is not pejorative.]
Eskimo Inuk (singular), Inuit (plural)
fireman, policeman, firefighter, police officer, mail
mailman carrier
gypsy Roma
handicapped, person with a disability (or be
crippled specific)
hard-of-hearing, In 1991, the World Federation of
deaf the Deaf voted to use the official
terms deafand hard of hearing.
The National Association of the
Deaf supports these terms, and
they are used by most
organizations involved with the
deaf community.
hearing impaired Generally not preferred because
it describes people by what they
can't do. Seehard-of-hearing
Hispanic, Latino, A prime example of the
Chicano, Latin complexities of terms related to
American, Mexican nationality. SeeRecommendations
American
homosexual lesbians, gay men
Homosexual is an outdated
clinical term with negative
connotations.
illegal immigrant, undocumented worker,
illegal alien undocumented immigrant,
unauthorized immigrant
Note: This one raises much
debate. The National Association
of Hispanic Journalists says
"illegal immigrant/illegal alien"
are often used pejoratively and
criminalize the person being
described.
Indian American Indian, Native
American (or better, name the
person's tribe)
Jew Jewish person, of Jewish
background
layman layperson, nonspecialist
male nurse, lady nurse, doctor
doctor
man and wife husband and wife, partners
man hours staff hours, staff time, work time
mankind humankind
manmade artificial, handmade, hand-built,
synthetic, manufactured,
fabricated, machine-made,
constructed
master, slave first (primary) copy, second copy
(sometimes used in
computer articles)
mothering parenting, nurturing
a slave to his work controlled by his work (or her
work)
middle man intermediary
Mongolism, Down syndrome [preferred to
Mongoloid Down's]
Mohammedan Muslim
Oriental Asian (or name a specific
nationality). Oriental is used to
describe rugs and artwork.
racial Do not use these as euphemisms
codes: welfare, for racial groups.
inner-city,
underprivileged,
blue collar,
conservative,
suburban, exotic,
middle-class,
Uptown, South Side,
wealthy
retarded Cognitively disabled person,
children and adults with
intellectual and developmental
disabilities (or be specific about
the person's capabilities)
sexual preference sexual orientation, gender
orientation
Siamese twins conjoined twins
statesman Might be appropriate in a
historical context but probably
not today.
stewardess flight attendant. Avoid feminine
suffixes, such as -ess, -ette, -
ienne, and -trix
suffering from, has a disability or illness (and be
afflicted with specific where possible)
transgender An adjective used to refer to a
person whose gender identity or
expression is different from the
person’s sex at birth.
waitress, waiter server
wheelchair-bound uses a wheelchair, is in a
wheelchair