Bias-Free Language

"The bottom line is that some of your readers (potential customers) will be offended by certain terms, and who wants to turn off a customer?"

-- Malinda McCain
Editor

 

Bias-free language

A list of terms with suggested substitutions.

adopted

Do not use unless it's important to the story. For more, read what Sara Kiesler says about adoption in the media.

bellman bellhop
career woman Be specific: doctor, artist, truck driver, etc
chairman (for everyone) chair, chairperson

Or chairman and chairwoman [not chairman and chairperson]

confined to a wheelchair uses a wheelchair
craftsman craftsperson, artisan [or potter, woodworker, knitter, etc]
deaf mute deaf
Eskimo Inuk (singular), Innuit (plural)
fireman, policeman, mailman firefighter, police officer, mail carrier
handicapped, crippled person with a disability [or be specific]
hearing impaired hard-of-hearing
Hispanic, Latino, Chicano, Latin American, Mexican American A prime example of the complexities of terms related to nationality. [see Recommendations]
Indian American Indian, Native American (or better, name the person's tribe)
Jew "Jewish person," "of Jewish background"
male nurse, lady doctor nurse, doctor
man and wife husband and wife, partners
man hours staff hours, staff time, work time
manmade artificial, handmade, hand-built, synthetic, manufactured, fabricated, machine-made, constructed
master, slave first (primary) copy, second copy
"a slave to his work" "controlled by his work" (or her work)
middle man intermediary
Mongolism, Mongoloid Down syndrome [preferred to Down's]
Mohammedan Muslim
Oriental Asian (or be specific)
racial codes: welfare, inner-city, underprivileged, blue collar, conservative, suburban, exotic, middle-class, Uptown, South Side, wealthy Do not use these as euphemisms for racial groups. For more, see "Guidelines for Racial Identification" by Keith Woods.
sexual preference sexual orientation, gender orientation
Siamese twins conjoined twins
statesman Might be appropriate in a historical context but probably not today.
"suffering from, afflicted with" "has a disability or illness"
waitress, waiter server
wheelchair-bound uses a wheelchair