In removing all gendered language from its civil code, the city of Berkeley is tossing out some familiar nomenclature.
The Berkeley City Council has given initial approval of a new ordinance that will ban the use of gendered language in the civil code, reports Patrick May. Any references to "he" or "she" in the civil code will be replaced with "they," explains May.
Most of the civil code relies on masculine terms, and the list of gendered terms that will soon be exchanged for gender neutral terms includes
- Manholes, which become "maintenance holes."
- Manpower, which becomes "human effort."
- Manufactured, which becomes "machine-made."
The full list is included on the Municipal Code Revision [pdf].
FULL STORY: Bye-bye, manhole: Berkeley bans gendered language from its city code
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