Office of Human Resources issues recommendations for gender-neutral language

The University’s Office of Human Resources recentlyupdatedits recommendations for gender-inclusive language. The recommendations, originally issued in August 2014 and updated in March 2015,are used in official HR communications, policies, job descriptions, and job postings.

In the original recommendations, the Office of Human Resources and the Office of Communications defines gender-inclusive language as “writing and speaking about people in a manner that does not use gender-based words.”

University Media Relations Specialist Min Pullan wrote in a statement that the Human Resources Department “has for several years encouraged the use of inclusive language, in keeping with the University’s overall effort to provide a welcoming and inclusive environment for all.”

“About two years ago, HR developed guidelines to be used in official communications from the department, as is common practice at other institutions,” the statement reads,“the guidelines encourage the use of language that is broadly inclusive in job postings, policy statements and other documents and reflect the inclusive culture and policies at Princeton University.”

“I think it’s a great idea,” Sera Gorucu '20 said. “I think it’s very inclusive and especially nowadays I think a lot of people feel the need to have more inclusive language in terms of gender.”

“I’m very supportive of the work HR is doing in being thoughtful about how we speak in official documents,” LGBT Center Director Judy Jarvis said. “I think it’s actually quite common sense to want to feel like as many people as possible are being spoken to in official and employee communications.”

Gorucu said that it’s not a “hassle” to change something small like “freshman” to “first-year student” and it “can make a big difference.”

“Gender identity is something that really affects you,” Gorucu said. “So I think if we can just take a small step I think it’s pretty helpful.”

Nicolas Freeman '18 also expressed their support for the new guidelines.

“I know that, as a transgender student, I’m often not represented in language,” Freeman said, adding that they want to move toward more gender inclusive language of “not only women, which has a long history of changing the institutions and the system to be more reflective of the population, but that it’s also focusing on improving the environment for gender queer and gender non-binary students.”

“I think a memo like this definitely supports the kind of environment that is inclusive of all folks,” Women's Center Program Coordinator Jordan Dixon said.

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“When we’re talking about a person in abstract we’re usually talking about a man and that’s what a lot of our language refers to,” said David Cruikshank '17. “I do think it’s really important we don’t just kind of complacently say that’s how it works but we do make these strides of change the way we think about how language is used.”

Cruikshank said that English isn’t quite as “overt” in its use of masculine words as other Romance languages, such as Spanish.

Jarvis said that English is very gendered, which influences the society as well.

“Using “he” as the default all the time is really not inclusive and leaves out a lot of people,” Jarvis said.

“I do think it’s admirable that they’re trying to make an effort to use more gender neutral language,” Cruikshank said. “A lot of studies have shown that if you do use truly neutral language things are usually better for women and minorities.”

Other students however, think the changes are not achieving a more desirable result.

“I feel that the University is making conciliatory changes that weren’t asked for and avoiding making changes that people weren’t actually demanding,” said Annabel Barry '19. “Even if that isn’t the intention, it is the result.”

Barry also said that because of the nature of language, most words that people use "mean something other than what they originally meant.”

“It’s intellectually irresponsible to pretend that the connotations of words don’t evolve and there are all sorts of words than we use,” Barry said.

Other prominent examples of changes include the phrase “best man for the job” which is now “best person for the job.” In a relic from when the University first admitted women in 1969, the memo notes that “coed,” which used to mean a female student, is just “student” now.

The memo includes a number of tips that change the sentence structure to eliminate the use of gendered pronouns such as “he” or “she” such as rewriting the text to plural, eliminating the pronoun, repeating the noun, using the second person voice or using gender-neutral occupational titles.

In columns labeled “Don’t Use” and “Use”, the memo stipulates various recommended words in categories such as “Occupations” and “Generic Terms and Expressions.”

Noting the press coverage of the memo this summer, Jarvis said she “had a hard time understanding the hysteria over this memo . . . because it just seems very common sense to me.”

Freeman said that they think the University still has room to improve. They said that it “could be as simple as asking for students’ gender pronouns.”

“If the University is trying to be more inclusive of the diverse array of genders on this campus, taking a top-down approach is one way to do that but we should also focus on the classroom level,” Freeman said. “I think the University has power to ask professors to be more aware and cognizant of gender pronouns.”

Pullan affirmed in the University’s statement that the University has not banned any words or phrases because it “places a high value on free expression.”

Correction: Due to an editing error, an earlier version of this article misstated the date the original recommendation was issued. The article also mistakenly noted that the administrators used gender-neutral language to address members of the Class of 2020 in accordance with the guideline, while the inclusive language at the orientation was not linked to the updated guideline but part of a wider move towards inclusion and diversity. The 'Prince' regrets the error.