California City Drops Words Like 'Manpower' in Push to be Inclusive

 

In one California city, there will soon be no more manholes -- the holes workers use to go under streets to repair equipment and fix other problems. Instead, the manholes will now be called “maintenance¹ holes.”

And, nothing will be described as “manmade.” The adjective soon will change to “human-made.”

Leaders in the city of Berkeley voted this month to change about 40 gender²-based words used in the city code. New, “gender-neutral” terms will appear instead. This means words like “manpower” will become “human effort” or “workforce.” And, pronouns like “she,” “her,” “he” and “him” will be replaced by “they” and “them.”

The effort, meant to create a more inclusive³ community, has received both praise and criticism.

Berkeley is within what is called the San Francisco Bay Area. It has a long history of progressive politics. It was among the first American cities to start a recycling pick-up program in the 1970s. More recently, it became the first city in the United States to tax sugary drinks and ban natural gas in new homes.

Rigel Robinson co-wrote the gender-neutral words measure. At 23, he is the youngest member of Berkeley’s City Council. He said Berkeley’s existing city code makes it sound like “men are the only ones that exist in entire industries or that men are the only ones on city government.”

Robinson added,“As society and our cultures become more aware about issues of gender identity and gender expression, it’s important that our laws reflect that.”

The changes will cost taxpayers⁴ $600, Robinson said. They are set to take effect later this year.

Removing gendered terms has been slowly happening for many years in the United States at some colleges, companies and other places.

But the broad, city-wide change in Berkeley is “remarkable and sends a message,” linguistics⁶ professor Kristen Syrett told the Associated Press. She is with Rutgers University in New Jersey⁷.

“Anytime you’re talking about something where gender is not the issue but you use a gendered term, that immediately sends a message of exclusion⁸, even if it’s a dialogue that has nothing to do with gender,” said Syrett. She recently led an effort to update the rules on inclusive language for the Linguistic⁵ Society of America.

For 27-year-old Berkeley local Hel Baker⁹, the approved measure is a small step in the right direction.

“I don’t, by any means, think this is the great championing for gender equality, but you gotta start somewhere,” Baker said.

Lauren Singh, who is 18, grew up in Berkeley. She approved of the move, saying, “Everyone deserves to be represented and feel included in the community.”

Not everyone agreed with the move, however. Laramie Crocker, a builder in Berkeley, said the changes made him laugh.

“If you try to change the laws every time someone has a new opinion about something, it doesn’t make sense. It’s just a bad habit to get into,” Crocker said.

Crocker, who is 54, said he would like city officials to center their efforts on bigger issues, like homelessness.

“Let’s keep it simple, get back to work,” he said. “Let’s figure out how to get homeless people housed and fed. He, she, they, it — they’re wasting my time.”

I’m Ashley Thompson.

Words in This Story

maintenance - n. the act of keeping property or equipment in good condition by making repairs, correcting problems, etc.

gender - n. the state of being male or female?

gender-neutral - adj. describing a word or expression that cannot be taken to refer to one gender only

code - n. a set of laws or regulations?

reflect - v. to show (something) : to make (something) known?

linguistics - n. the study of language and of the way languages work?

dialogue - n. a conversation between two or more people?

gotta - used in writing to represent the sound of the phrase got to when it is spoken quickly

habit - n. a usual way of behaving

figure out - phrasal verb. to understand or find (something, such as a reason or a solution) by thinking

1 maintenance   

n.维修，保养，扶养费，维持，保持

参考例句：

• His small farm provides maintenance,but not much more.他的小农场能使他们维持生活，但仅此而已。
• He has to pay maintenance to his ex-wife.他必须给前妻赡养费。

2 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

3 inclusive   

adj.(of)包括的，包含的；范围广的

参考例句：

• The bill is inclusive of the food and lodging.账单包括吃、住费用。
• It's an all inclusive price;there is nothing extra to pay.这是一个包罗一切的价格，不需再额外付款了。

4 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

5 linguistic   

adj.语言的，语言学的

参考例句：

• She is pursuing her linguistic researches.她在从事语言学的研究。
• The ability to write is a supreme test of linguistic competence.写作能力是对语言能力的最高形式的测试。

6 linguistics   

n.语言学

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• Linguistics is a scientific study of the property of language.语言学是指对语言的性质所作的系统研究。

7 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

8 exclusion   

n.拒绝，排除，排斥，远足，远途旅行

参考例句：

• Don't revise a few topics to the exclusion of all others.不要修改少数论题以致排除所有其他的。
• He plays golf to the exclusion of all other sports.他专打高尔夫球，其他运动一概不参加。

9 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。