These Guidelines were published by the National Council of Teachers of English, and were last revised 1985. Keene State College English Department uses them as their guidelines for nonsexist use of language in English 101 and throughout the curriculum. The following is an excerpt from the NCTE's Guidelines for Nonsexist Use of Language. For more information contact the NCTE.

[These guidelines deal] primarily with word choice. Many of the examples are matters of vocabulary; a few are matters of grammatical choice. The vocabulary items are relatively easy to deal with, since the English lexicon has a history of rapid change. Grammar is a more difficult area, and we have chosen to use alternatives that already exist in the language rather than to invent new constructions. In both cases, recommended alternatives have been determined by what is graceful and unobtrusive. The purpose of these changes is to suggest alternative styles.

Generic Man
Since the word man has come to refer almost exclusively to adult males, it is sometimes difficult to recognize its generic meaning.

Sometimes the combining form -woman is used alongside -man in occupational terms and job titles, but we prefer using the same titles for men and women when naming jobs that could be held by both. Note, too, that using the same forms for men and women is a way to avoid using the combining form -person as a substitute for -woman only.

Generic He and His
Because there is no one pronoun in English that can be effectively substituted for he or his, we offer several alternatives. The form he or she has been the NCTE house style over the last ten years, on the premise that it is less distracting than she or he or he/she. There are other choices, however. The one you make will depend on what you are writing.

Sometimes it is possible to drop the possessive form his altogether or to substitute an article.

Often it makes sense to use the plural instead of the singular.

The first or second person can sometimes be substituted for the third person.

In some situations, the pronoun one (one's) can be substituted for he (his), but it should be used sparingly. Notice that the use of one - like the use of we or you - changes the tone of what you are writing.

A sentence with he or his can sometimes be recast in the passive voice or another impersonal construction.

When the subject is an indefinite pronoun, the plural form their can occasionally be used with it, especially when the referent for the pronoun is clearly understood to be plural.

But since this usage is transitional, it is usually better to recast the sentence and avoid the indefinite pronoun.

Finally, sparing use can be made of he or she and his or her. It is best to restrict this choice to contexts in which the pronouns are not repeated.

Sex-Role Stereotyping
Word choices sometimes reflect unfortunate and unconscious assumptions about sex roles - for example, that farmers are always men and elementary school teachers are always women; that men are valued for their accomplishments and women for their physical attributes; or that men are strong and brave while women are weak and timid. We need to examine the assumptions inherent in certain stock phrases and choose nonstereotyped alternatives.

Identify men and women in the same way. Diminutive or special forms to name women are usually unnecessary. In most cases, generic terms such as doctor or actor should be assumed to include both men and women. Only occasionally are alternate forms needed, and in these cases, the alternate form replaces both the masculine and the feminine titles.

Do not represent women as occupying only certain jobs or roles and men as occupying only certain others.

Treat men and women in a parallel manner.

Seek alternatives to language that patronizes or trivializes women, as well as to language that reinforces stereotyped images of both women and men.

Sexist Language in a Direct Quotation
Quotations cannot be altered, but there are other ways of dealing with this problem. Avoid the quotation altogether if it is not really necessary. Paraphrase the quotation, giving the original author credit for the idea.

If the quotation is fairly short, recast it as an indirect quotation, substituting nonsexist words as necessary.

Sample Revised Passage
Substantial revisions or deletions are sometimes necessary when problems overlap or when stereotyped assumptions about men and women so pervade a passage that simple replacement of words is inadequate.