Berkeley, California, known as one of the most liberal cities in America, has approved an ordinance that will remove all gendered language from municipal code because it is “male-centric.” The change would cost approximately $600 to update the language.
Words like “fireman” will be changed to “firefighter.” “Manpower” becomes “human effort.” “Brother” and “Sister” will be changed to “sibling.” “Manholes” will be changed to “maintenance holes” and “pregnant women” becomes “pregnant employees.”
And, of course, personal pronouns like “he,” “she,” “her,” and “him,” will become “they” and “them.”
“A male-centric municipal code doesn’t reflect the reality of the city of Berkeley,” the municipality’s youngest city council member and sponsor of the move, Rigel Robinson said. “Language has power, this matters.”
The ordinance will get a second reading next week. If passed, it will go into effect in August.
