Inclusivity in Language
| Instead of | Use | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Guys/Girls, ladies and gentlemen | People/folks/y’all | Avoiding gendered language. |
| Addict | Person with a substance abuse disorder | Person-first language instead of focusing on disability |
| Retard (n)/retarded (adj) | Person with a cognitive disability (n), uncool (adj) | These are outdated medical terms that have become slurs against neurodivergent people. |
| Gay (adj) | Table Data | Denotes being homosexual with negativity. |
| Grandfather/grandfathered | Legacy/legacy status | Terms have racist connotations to Jim Crow era voting rights. |
| Insane, crazy | Wild/surprising | Avoids ableist language. |
| Handicapped | Accessible | Avoids ableist language. |
| Spaz | Clumsy/awkward | Avoids ableist language. |
| No can do | I can’t do it | Originally was used to make fun of non-English speakers |
| Peanut gallery | Critics | Avoids racist terminology referring to the upper balcony where Blacks sat in segregated theaters during Jim Crow |
| Gypsy | Romani people, Traveler, nomad, wanderer |
Racial slur for Romani people |
| Powwow | Gathering | Avoids appropriation of Native American terms |
| Low hanging fruit | Easy, easily accessible | Associated with lynching |
| Master | Primary/main | De-associates it with slavery. |
| Slave (programming) | Secondary | De-associates it with slavery. |
| Sold down the river | Let down/misled | De-associates it with slavery. |
| Blacklist | Denylist/blocklist | Avoids associating black with negative |
| Shoot them a message | Send them a message | Lesser focus on violent words within sentence |
| Bullet point | Listing | Lesser focus on violent words within sentence |
| Trigger warning | Content warning | Lesser focus on violent words within sentence |
| Pulled the trigger | Activated | Lesser focus on violent words within sentence |
| Moving target | Moving goalpost moving object, moving plan, ever-changing situation | Lesser focus on violent words within sentence |
| Shoot your shot | Make an attempt | Lesser focus on violent words within sentence |
| Triggered | Activated, bothered | Lesser focus on violent words within sentence |
| Bite the bullet | Do the hard thing | Lesser focus on violent words within sentence |
Terms and explanations adapted from:
Stanford University “Elimination of Harmful Language Initiative.”
Kulkarni, N. (2020, September 11th), Say this instead: Words and Phrases to stop using,
Idealist,
https://www.idealist.org/en/careers/words-and-phrases-to-stop-using.
Inclusive Language in the Workplace, Writer.com https://writer.com/guides/inclusive-language/
Updated: January 2024