Biased Language: Part #1
Certain words and phrases are inherently biased, often because of their origins. Many online resources are available to help you extricate biased and culturally outdated language from your vocabulary (the process is also called “decolonizing language”). I highly recommend you search them out. These lists contain many terms that should never appear in contemporary writing along with recommended alternatives.
The American Psychological Association recommends the singular “they”: When readers see a gendered pronoun, they make assumptions about the gender of the person being described (Gastil, 1990; Moulton et al., 1978). APA advocates for the singular “they” because it is inclusive of all people and helps writers avoid making assumptions about gender. (See APA STYLE.)
On gender, or the “he/his/him” and “she/hers/her” issue, they/their/theirs saves a lot of uses of “/”. Since we are interested in eliminating extraneous characters, know your preference and be consistent.
BIASED WORDS
BIASED / ALTERNATIVE
chairman / chair, chairperson
common man / average person, ordinary people
councilman / council member
craftsmanship / craft
grandfathered / legacy
guys / people, team
handicap / disability
man-hours / staff-hours, work hours
mankind / humanity, people, human beings, humankind
manmade / synthetic, manufactured, machine-made
workmanship / craft
craftsman / artisan
All these words are in common uses in the architecture, design and fine arts. Time to move on and build your creative muscle around non biased language.
The Biased Language list and other professional writing “dos & don’ts” will be published in the upcoming book Designing Words.
Unlike Architect + Action = Result, which is geared to aiding AIA architects in the AIA Fellowship submission process, Designing Words will provide expanded writing tips for architects, designers and artists and the people who support them. It will be a great writing guide, designer resource and architectural marketing resource.
Anyone interested in creating an architectural design book, a book on design and designers, or a creative design book will find the contents invaluable.
