Imposed labelling

Imposed labelling is when a minority or less powerful group has a name or term given to them by the majority group. Usually when these minority groups assert their own powers and rights they replace their imposed label with a term of their own choice. It is important to be aware of the significance of terms, forms of address and labels chosen by minority groups and to respect and use their chosen preference.

Sexist language is language that expresses a bias in favour of one sex and thus discriminates against the other. In general the bias has been in favour of men and against women. This bias occurs when the language used to describe women makes them seem invisible, is stereotypical or implies that women are somehow inferior to men.

Non-discriminatory or non-sexist language is language which recognises the differences between the sexes but treats both sexes equally and fairly.

A common form of sexist language is the use of the terms man, he, his, etc to refer to all humanity, both male and female. This use of these terms does not give women equal linguistic representation. Ambiguities also arise because

these terms have a dual meaning. They can be used to refer to men only. Here are some suggested alternatives.

Avoid	Suggested
man	humans, human beings, humankind, man and woman, person, men and women, people
manpower	workforce, personnel, staff, human resources
man-made	artificial, constructed, fabricated, handmade
man in the street	average person, ordinary people, people in general
chairman	chairperson, convenor, coordinator
workmanlike	skilful, efficient
policeman	police officer
groundsman	gardener, grounds worker, landscaper
spokesman	principal advocate, official, representative, speaker, spokesperson
businessman	business person, business executive, entrepreneur

Avoid using occupational titles containing the feminine suffixes -ess, -ette, -trix, -ienne. These often have trivialising or negative connotations and convey the idea that women are deviations from a male norm.

actress authoress waitress sculptress comedienne

actor author waiter sculptor comedian

The inappropriate use of names, titles, salutations and endearments creates the impression that women merit less respect or less serious consideration than men do. Be absolutely consistent and use titles for men and women that are parallel.

The titles Miss and Mrs not only identify the person addressed as a woman but reveal her marital status, whereas the use of Mr merely identifies that person as a man. The use of Ms is recommended for all women when the parallel Mr is applicable, and Ms should always be used when a woman's preferred title is unknown. A woman's preferred title should be respected when known.

The use of endearments such as dear, love, sweetie, honey for women in work and formal situations is inappropriate,

condescending and sometimes insulting to women. Their use should be avoided.

Avoid irrelevant sexist references to a woman's physical appearance, marital or parenting status. In the professional context where these factors are not referred to in relation to a man they should not be raised in relation to a woman.

Avoid the use of stereotyped descriptions when referring to men's and women's behaviour. If men and women have

similar behaviours or characteristics the same language should be used to describe both. Commonly used stereotyping terms are -

For men	For women
strong	domineering
cautious	timid
assertive	aggressive
firm	stubborn
conversation	gossip

In recent years, there has been an increasing awareness of the rights and concerns of people with disabilities. With this

increasing awareness has come the recognition that discriminatory language is often used in relation to people with

disabilities. Often these people have been the subject of depersonalising, stereotyped and derogatory language. The

preferred term people with disabilities was developed because it recognises that people with disabilities are people first.

The discriminatory nature of derogatory labels used to describe members of minority groups is often obvious. However, in the case of people with disabilities, labels such as crippled, blind, deaf, dumb and retarded are still commonly used and should be avoided. Some acceptable alternatives for such labels are person with mobility impairment, person with Down's Syndrome, person with hearing and speech disabilities, person with an intellectual disability.

The use of imprecise euphemistic terms such as physically challenged, physically gifted and differently abled should be avoided. Avoid using the terms victim or sufferer to refer to a person who has or has had an illness, disease or disability.

These terms dehumanise the person and emphasise powerlessness.

Avoid	Suggested
victim or AIDS sufferer	people who are HIV positive, a person who has AIDS
polio victim	a person who has had polio

Language used in reference to people of other than heterosexual preference is often derogatory and implies inferiority or deviance. Avoid terms such as poofter, queer, queen, dyke, transvestite and use instead homosexual/gay men or homosexual women/lesbian or transsexual/trans-gender.

Avoid stereotyped descriptions or derogatory terms, eg. gay men are often referred to as effeminate and lesbians are often referred to as butch or masculine.