I recently updated a handout I first created in 1998.
A phrase like “a good policeman knows his duty” unnecessarily excludes
women. While it would be excessive to read history as if every general
use of “man” is sexist, today’s culture calls for alternatives.
“police officer” instead of “policeman” is easy, but replacing every
“his” with “his or her” will sound tedious in a longer document.
Pluralizing is often a good solution (“good police officers know their
duty”), as is rephrasing to avoid the problem altogether (“a duty-minded police officer serves the community”).
Examples and Quick Fixes
Full Text: “Gender-neutral Language“