Gender-neutral terms are nothing new, but people don’t always think to use them. These terms, also called gender-inclusive, remove the sexism or gender indications from words that don’t need to be gender-specific. You may already use some of these gender-inclusive words on a regular basis.
Gender-Neutral Terms to Use With Friends and Family
From terms of endearment to words for family members and friends, you can replace gender-specific words with gender-neutral options pretty easily.
Gendered Term | Gender-Neutral Term |
aunt or uncle | pibling (stands for “parent’s sibling) |
boyfriend/husband or girlfriend/wife | partner or significant other |
dude or buddy | friend |
fiancée/fiancé | betrothed |
granddaughter or grandson | grandchild |
grandma or grandpa | grandparent |
husband or wife | spouse |
mother or father | parent |
niece or nephew | nibling, chibling, or sibkid (sibling’s kid) |
sister or brother | sibling |
son or daughter | child or progeny |
Gender-Neutral Terms for the Workplace
The workplace can be a particularly tricky place to address gender-specific terminology. Any term that includes “man” or “woman” at the end can often have this part changed to “person” to make it gender-neutral.
Gendered Term | Gender-Neutral Term |
businessman or businesswoman | business person |
chairman or chairwoman | chairperson |
crewman | crewperson |
foreman | foreperson |
layman | layperson |
mailman | mail carrier or postal worker |
manned | crewed |
Mr. or Mrs. | Mx (pronounced “mix”) |
policeman | police officer |
waiter or waitress | server or table attendant |
General Gender-Neutral Terms You Can Start Using Every Day
You can also be respectful of the different types of people you might encounter on any given day by replacing some common gendered terms with gender-neutral options.
Gendered Term | Gender-Neutral Term |
freshman | first-year student |
girl or boy | young person, kid, or teen |
handsome or beautiful | attractive or good-looking |
hero or heroine | heroix |
human | person or being |
mankind | humankind or people |
man-made | synthetic or machine-made |
upperclassmen | upper-level student |
woman or man | adult |
Gender-Neutral Nuances
Using gender neutral terms is becoming the accepted way to make all people feel recognized and respected. At the moment, there aren’t universally accepted standards for gender-neutral words, so the best way to know what to say to a specific person is to ask. Explore what sexist language is and how it can impact the lives of people you care about. Then, you can learn more ways to speak with inclusivity by understanding how to use they/them for a singular person.