Other

As society develops, preferred language around sensitive subjects evolves with it. Age, race, sex, disabilities, religion and more are sometimes pertinent in communications but must be handled thoughtfully. The following suggestions are currently appropriate. They may not have been acceptable in the past, nor may they remain the best usage in the future.

Addiction and dependence

Use person-forward language to de-emphasize the condition and to reduce stigmas and negative characterizations.

Addiction: treatable disease, causing compulsive yet self-destructive behaviour (substance abuse disorder)
Dependence: physical or mental, often a symptom of addiction, which usually involves both

Do not use pejoratives like “a junkie,” “a crackhead” or “a drunk,” and don’t independently characterize the condition as a problem or the behaviour as abuse. Risky, heavy, excessive and unhealthy are all permissible, and misuse can be suitable in circumstances involving prescribed medications.

Example: Alcoholism is acceptable for an addiction to alcohol, but don’t call someone an alcoholic. Words like user, addict and abuser are best avoided unless a person self-identifies on the record as such. 

Age and long-term care

Often age is relevant as part of a personal description or for identification but should be used only if relevant. In general, give a person’s age rather than imprecise and possibly derogatory terms such as senior citizen, retiree, elderly or middle-aged. When a precise age is unavailable:

Avoid euphemisms such as: senior citizen, retiree, elderly, middle-aged
Instead use: older adult

Take care to avoid stigmatizing individuals live in long-term care homes.

Avoid: patients in long-term care facilities/institutions
Instead use: residents in long-term care homes

Disability

When talking about people with disabilities, mention the disability only if it is relevant. If uncertain what term to use, ask the individual his or her preference. Be accurate, clear and sensitive when describing a person with a disability, handicap, illness or disease. Use people-first approach: unless a person declares otherwise, don’t define a person by their disability.

Preferred language: A woman with autism
Avoid using: An autistic woman

Lowercase deaf or capitalize Deaf depends on subject’s preference (e.g. Deaf culture)

Don’t presume suffering and avoid the use of emotional descriptives, such as “afflicted,” “stricken” and “confined.” The rule of thumb is: put the person before the disability. Use “persons with disabilities”, “people with disabilities,” etc., rather than “the disabled” or “the handicapped.”

Note: “disability” is the correct term when referring to the Ontario Human Rights Code. The code prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability.

Avoid cliches: Fell on deaf ears, turned a blind eye, etc.

Learn the preferences of your sources and subjects and proceed accordingly.

Race and ethnicity

Identify a person by race, colour, national origin or immigration status only when it is truly pertinent to the story. Coverage that deals with matters of race must reflect and showcase the ethnic diversity of the country in a natural, organic way that is free of bias.

Joint nationalities/identities are not hyphenated.

• French Canadian
• African American

BIPOC: Resist the abbreviation, but if unavoidable, explain it: Black, Indigenous and people of colour.

Take care when writing about diverse communities to avoid “othering” – fostering the implicit sense that a person or group is extrinsically different or doesn’t belong. For instance:

Not: Iranian Canadian community in mourning after place crash
But: Canadians with loves ones in Iran grieve crash victims

Respect labels preferred by specific racial or ethnic groups and only use if necessary. For example:

• Black people
• people of African descent
• Africans
• First Nation(s) people
• Indigenous people
• South Asian
• East Asian
• South East Asian
• Middle Eastern
• North African

Avoid using words like “gestapo,” “concentration camp” and “Hitler” casually. Try to use these words only in reference to the Second World War.

Capitalization of Black:

• Use Black as a proper name for a person’s race
• However, white remains lowercase because: that group lacks a similar shared culture and experience
• The broad term brown remains lowercase and is best avoided except in a quote

Avoid equating bad, depressing or negative things with blackness. For example, avoid such terms as:

• a black mood
• blackball
• blackmail
• black magic
• black market
• black sheep
• a dark/black day
• a black heart
• blacklisted
• the pot calling the kettle black

Indigenous Peoples

In Canada there are three distinct Indigenous groups under Sec. 35 of the Constitution: First Nations, Inuit and Métis. The Canadian Press outlines the preference for Indigenous people when speaking about these groups collectively. Indigenous Peoples is also accepted as an term that includes all First Nations, Inuit and Métis in Canada. The word Indigenous is capitalized in all references.

When writing about a specific Indigenous nation, make an effort to use the specific name of the nation, e.g. Anishinaabe.

Avoid stereotypes, generalizations or assumptions about ethnic or racial groups.

Avoid using phrases such as “on the warpath,” “Indian giver,” etc.

Gender

Avoid male or female pronouns when referring to groups composed of both men and women or of unspecified gender. Also try to avoid the use of word combinations such as him and her, his/her, and s/he. Use of the plural form of the noun with the relevant pronoun is often the simplest way to avoid sexist language. There are many alternatives to gender-biased language.

See also Talking Gender by Ruth King et al., and Handbook of Nonsexist Writing by Casey Miller and Kate Swift.

• Chris Ratchford is the Chair (not Chairman) of the board of governors.
• Professor Sam Latimer worked in the fishing industry (not was a fisherman) before deciding on an academic career.

When referring to two groups of opposite sexes, use parallel language.

• men and women/husband and wife (not man and wife)
• men’s and women’s varsity basketball teams (not men’s and girls’)

Unless the role of wife, mother, sister or daughter is important to the context, avoid identifying women in these terms. Marital status should also not be noted, unless pertinent. Gender neutral terms for marital status include partner, spouse, significant other.

Gender identity / expression

• 2SLGBTQIA+ stands for: Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans/transgender, queer/questioning, intersexual, asexual, and additional people who identify as part of sexual and gender diverse communities.
• transgender or trans (not “transgendered”): an individual whose own personal sense of their gender does not match the sex they were assigned at birth. Avoid using “trans” except in a direct quote.
• transsexual: clinically defined as someone who identifies as a member of the sex opposite to that assigned at birth and seeks to transition to the gender with which they identify, often with medical assistance.
• non-binary/gender non-conforming/genderqueer: Use such lesser-known terms advisedly and always with a definition.
• Two-Spirit (not “two-spirited”): often used to represent various gender identities and sexual orientations within the Indigenous community. It is a broad term with numerous definitions. Seek clarity from the subject before using this term.
• cisgender: an individual whose gender identity matches the sex they were assigned at birth.
• Whenever possible, confirm with the person being written about how they wish to be described, including their pronouns.

Physical descriptions should not be included unless they are relevant to the story. Neither men nor women should be stereotyped. For instance, avoid describing women only in terms of physical attributes if men are described by mental attributes or career status.

Don’t write:

• James Carrera is a respected geologist, and his wife Anna is a striking blonde.

Rather, write:

• Both the Carreras are highly respected in their fields. Anna is a well-known musician and James is a respected geologist.

Avoid stereotyping careers or jobs.

Don’t write:

• Housewives are paying more.

Write:

• Shoppers are paying more.

Depict men and women equally in terms of physical prowess or mental ability. Don’t automatically ascribe particular emotions or feelings to women and actions to men, or vice versa; men can be sensitive and women physically active. Depict men and women equally in the workplace.

Sexual orientation

• A person’s sexual orientation should never be mentioned unless relevant to the story.
• There are common acronyms that refer to sexually diverse communities, including 2SLGBTQIA+. Ensure you are accurately representing the community you are writing about and including explanations when using acronyms.
• Don’t use “gay” as a noun.
• Use “sexual orientation,” not “sexual preference.”

Commonly used words to avoid and suggested alternatives

Avoid: blackball
Alternatives: ostracize, disapprove, reject

Avoid: blacklist
Alternatives: condemn, ostracize, boycott

Avoid: blackmail
Alternatives: extort, threaten, demand

Avoid: black sheep
Alternatives: reprobate, backslider

Avoid: black market
Alternatives: underground economy, deals on the side

Avoid: businessman
Alternatives: business person

Avoid: chairman
Alternatives: Chair, co-ordinator, convenor

Avoid: cleaning woman
Alternatives: cleaner

Avoid: clergyman
Alternatives: clergy, deacon, minister, pastor, priest, rabbi

Avoid: coloured people
Alternatives: Black peoples, people of African descent, African people, South Asian peoples

Avoid: common man
Alternatives: average person, members of the public

Avoid: craftsman
Alternatives: artisan, craftsperson

Avoid: crippled
Alternatives: person(s) or people with a disability

Avoid: the disabled
Alternatives: persons or people with disabilities

Avoid: East Indian
Alternatives: South Asian

Avoid: fair sex
Alternatives: women

Avoid: fireman
Alternatives: firefighter

Avoid: forefathers
Alternatives: ancestors

Avoid: gentleman/gentlemen
Alternatives: man/men

Avoid: girl/girls (referring to adult females)
Alternatives: woman/women

Avoid: the handicapped
Alternatives: persons or people with disabilities

Avoid: housewife
Alternatives: homemaker

Avoid: lady/ladies (referring to adult females)
Alternatives: woman/women

Avoid: layman
Alternatives: layperson, average person

Avoid: low man/woman on the totem pole
Alternatives: lowest rung of the ladder

Avoid: man in the street
Alternatives: person in the street, public, member of the public

Avoid: man the phones
Alternatives: staff the phones, handle the phones

Avoid: man hours
Alternatives: working hours

Avoid: manpower
Alternatives: personnel, staff, staffing requirements, workers, workforce

Avoid: mankind
Alternatives: civilization, humanity, people

Avoid: man-made
Alternatives: synthetic, artificial

Avoid: master/mistress of ceremonies
Alternatives: host, MC

Avoid: middleman
Alternatives: wholesaler, go-between

Avoid: newsman
Alternatives: journalist, reporter

Avoid: non-whites
Alternatives: people of colour

Avoid: orientals
Alternatives: Asian peoples, East Asian peoples, Southeast Asian peoples

Avoid: physically challenged
Alternatives: person with a physical disability

Avoid: policeman
Alternatives: officer, police officer

Avoid: postman
Alternatives: postal worker, mail carrier

Avoid: primitive societies
Alternatives: non-industrial societies

Avoid: right-hand man
Alternatives: assistant

Avoid: salesman
Alternatives: clerk, sales representative

Avoid: spokesman, spokesperson
Alternatives: representative, speaker, official

Avoid: stakeholder
Alternatives: collaborator, partner, associate, shareholder (if appropriate)

Avoid: stewardess
Alternatives: flight attendant

Avoid: tribes
Alternatives: ethnic groups

Avoid: West Indian
Alternatives: Caribbean

Avoid: wives and children
Alternatives: families/family

Avoid: workman
Alternatives: worker (For more information, see York University’s Decolonizing, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Glossary