Avoiding discriminatory language: Sexism and racism

Language is an integral part of culture, so it should come as no surprise that discriminatory attitudes have come to be reflected in our language over time. However, language is a dynamic entity, and being aware of such literary biases means we can change the way we write so as to avoid their use in future. For example, there are many sexist assumptions in the English language, with expression biased towards the masculine. When you are referring to both women and men in your writing, don't exclude one sex by referring only to ‘him’, ‘he’, ‘men’, ‘man’ or ‘mankind’. The general rule is not to refer to the sex of a person unless it is relevant to your discussion. You can easily replace sexist expressions with ‘him/her’, ‘s/he’, ‘humanity’, ‘people’ or ‘individuals’ when you are including both women and men.

Racist expressions are less common today, but nonetheless you should be aware that words such as ‘ethnics’ or ‘an ethnic’ are slang and pejorative (implying disapproval). Instead, use ‘people of non-English speaking background (NESB)’, or refer specifically to the actual ethnic group, but only if it is relevant to your discussion. Most problems occur when writing about indigenous populations, so it is worth finding out the preferred expression in your particular country. For example, ‘aboriginal’ literally means an indigenous person—it isn't country specific. Therefore, in Australia, the preferred terms to use are:

• Aborigine (singular noun)
• Aborigines (plural noun)
• Aboriginal (adjective).

Note the use of the capital ‘A’ for Aborigine, as in capital ‘A’ for Australian or ‘I’ for Italian. By using the lower case, such as ‘aborigines’, you are referring to the original inhabitants of any country. The capital ‘A’—in Australia, at least—is used to identify a specific indigenous people, Australian Aborigines.