State lawmakers consider gender-neutral language bill
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - In Washington state, dairymen, freshmen and even penmanship could soon be things of the past.
Over the past six years, state officials have engaged in the onerous task of changing the language used in the state's copious laws, including thousands of words and phrases, many written more than a century ago when the idea of women working on police forces or on fishing boats wasn't a consideration.
That process is slated to draw to a close this year. So while the state has already welcomed "firefighters," ''clergy" and "police officers" into its lexicon, "ombuds" (in place of ombudsman) and "security guards" (previously "watchmen,") appear to be next, along with "dairy farmers," ''first-year students" and "handwriting."
"Some people would say 'oh, it's not a big thing, do you really have to go through the process of changing the language,'" said Seattle Councilmember Sally Clark who was one of the catalysts for the change. "But language matters. It's how we signal a level of respect for each other."
About half of all U.S. states have moved toward such gender-neutral language at varying levels, from drafting bills to changing state constitutions, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Florida and Minnesota have already completely revised their laws as Washington state is doing.
The final installment of Washington state's bill already has sailed through the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee with unanimous approval. The nearly 500-page bill has one more committee stop scheduled before full Senate debate.
Crispin Thurlow, a sociolinguist and associate professor of language and communication at the University of Washington-Bothell, said the project was admirable.
He said that as language evolves, such efforts are more than symbolic.
"Changing words can change what we think about the world around us," he said. "These tiny moments accrue and become big movements."
Clark and former councilmember Jan Drago - the Seattle City Council has long eschewed the terms councilwoman or councilman - brought the issue to Sen. Jeannie Kohl-Welles in 2006 after they came across references to firemen and policemen in the mayor's proposed budget, as well as in state law dealing with local-government pensions.
Clark and Drago's findings sparked the initial gender-neutral language law that was passed in 2007, immediately changing those terms and directing the state code reviser's office to do a full revision of the rest of the code. A 1983 Washington state law had already required all new statutes to be written in gender-neutral terms, so state officials were tasked with going through the rest of state statutes dating back to 1854 to revise the rest.
As in past bills on the issue that have tackled sections of the state code, some revisions were as simple as adding "or her" after "his." Others required a little more scrutiny. Phrases like "man's past" changes to "humankind's past" and a "prudent man or woman" is simply a "prudent person."
Kyle Thiessen, the state's code reviser who has been working on the project along with two attorneys since 2008, said that the work was not without obstacles.
Words like "manhole" and "manlock" aren't so easily replaced, he said. Substitutes have been suggested - "utility hole" and "air lock serving as a decompression chamber for workers." But Thiessen said those references will be left alone to avoid confusion.
Republican state Rep. Shelly Short, of Addy, has voted against earlier gender-neutral language bills and said she plans to do the same this year.
"I don't see the need to do gender neutrality," she said, adding that her constituents want her to focus on jobs and the economy. "We're women and we're men."
Kohl-Welles, who has sponsored each of the gender-neutral language bills, said that while this project hasn't been her top legislation every year, "overall, it has important significance."
"I believe," she said, "that the culture has changed."
Over the past six years, state officials have engaged in the onerous task of changing the language used in the state's copious laws, including thousands of words and phrases, many written more than a century ago when the idea of women working on police forces or on fishing boats wasn't a consideration.
That process is slated to draw to a close this year. So while the state has already welcomed "firefighters," ''clergy" and "police officers" into its lexicon, "ombuds" (in place of ombudsman) and "security guards" (previously "watchmen,") appear to be next, along with "dairy farmers," ''first-year students" and "handwriting."
"Some people would say 'oh, it's not a big thing, do you really have to go through the process of changing the language,'" said Seattle Councilmember Sally Clark who was one of the catalysts for the change. "But language matters. It's how we signal a level of respect for each other."
About half of all U.S. states have moved toward such gender-neutral language at varying levels, from drafting bills to changing state constitutions, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Florida and Minnesota have already completely revised their laws as Washington state is doing.
The final installment of Washington state's bill already has sailed through the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee with unanimous approval. The nearly 500-page bill has one more committee stop scheduled before full Senate debate.
Crispin Thurlow, a sociolinguist and associate professor of language and communication at the University of Washington-Bothell, said the project was admirable.
He said that as language evolves, such efforts are more than symbolic.
"Changing words can change what we think about the world around us," he said. "These tiny moments accrue and become big movements."
Clark and former councilmember Jan Drago - the Seattle City Council has long eschewed the terms councilwoman or councilman - brought the issue to Sen. Jeannie Kohl-Welles in 2006 after they came across references to firemen and policemen in the mayor's proposed budget, as well as in state law dealing with local-government pensions.
Clark and Drago's findings sparked the initial gender-neutral language law that was passed in 2007, immediately changing those terms and directing the state code reviser's office to do a full revision of the rest of the code. A 1983 Washington state law had already required all new statutes to be written in gender-neutral terms, so state officials were tasked with going through the rest of state statutes dating back to 1854 to revise the rest.
As in past bills on the issue that have tackled sections of the state code, some revisions were as simple as adding "or her" after "his." Others required a little more scrutiny. Phrases like "man's past" changes to "humankind's past" and a "prudent man or woman" is simply a "prudent person."
Kyle Thiessen, the state's code reviser who has been working on the project along with two attorneys since 2008, said that the work was not without obstacles.
Words like "manhole" and "manlock" aren't so easily replaced, he said. Substitutes have been suggested - "utility hole" and "air lock serving as a decompression chamber for workers." But Thiessen said those references will be left alone to avoid confusion.
Republican state Rep. Shelly Short, of Addy, has voted against earlier gender-neutral language bills and said she plans to do the same this year.
"I don't see the need to do gender neutrality," she said, adding that her constituents want her to focus on jobs and the economy. "We're women and we're men."
Kohl-Welles, who has sponsored each of the gender-neutral language bills, said that while this project hasn't been her top legislation every year, "overall, it has important significance."
"I believe," she said, "that the culture has changed."
Clark, Drago and Kohl-Welles. So what is the gender neutral, politically correct, thought-police approved term for "dumb bitches"?
Can we change female to fe
Woman to wo
and human to hu
Â
Idiots
How do we measure the impact of making or not making such decisions regarding gender neutrality? What are the motives of the lawmakers? Is it gender equality or masking political correctness in the art of renaming? Check out my current blogpost in response to the idea of gender neutrality and this article at http://www.the1stbornson.blogspot.com.
@TheFirstbornSonAre you going to spam your blog on every single article? Getting sick of seeing it already. Maybe if you spent half the time improving your work that you spend shoving it down everyone's throats you'd generate your own traffic and not have to steal advertising from respectable sites.Â
Even someone that is as bats**t crazy as I concerning using the correct words in written communication thinks this is insane.
I do no not think we actually need another law that we cannot afford to implement. Next time they write a law or a bill or a document just make it gender neutral. Does anybody really have an issue with the word penmanship?Â
On the other hand, we should make all state restrooms gender neutral with only urinals; wait, they tried that but women wouldn't "stand" for it!
@The Truth Let's see how long the men stand for women's urinals when we're walking all around your homes with our urine-soaked feet. :D
 @The Truth Evidently you have never seen a female urinal. Yes, they DO exist!
Leftys' always looking for a way to get their feelings hurt.
This is disgusting.
Hu"people"
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So do they think the public is not smart enough to know what they are talking/writing about? They have been working on this since 2008, doesnât sound cheap. They must have solved all of the cityâs violence, poverty, and budget problems.
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Why does this idea seem like it came from some crazed hippy cat lady?
This is why alot of us have lost our faith in government! Â This politically correct gender stuff is costly in both money and time which we the people are paying for. Â Do something better with your time other than this like protect children who are most vulnerable!
Some years ago a major telecommunications corporation for whom I worked declared that they were going for "gender neutral" wording and declared that "manhole cover" would no longer be acceptable. It was to be a "personnel access plate". Because we were required to test the atmosphere inside the "manholes" with an oxygen saturation meter before entering, we started calling that a "PAP test" ("Personnel Access Plate test"). The company quietly abandoned their mandate. Good thing, because we were starting to call "Pullman" "Pull-person".
How much is this going to cost? And they say they're in a budget crisis...
Don't these idiots have more important things to address...like the BUDGET?
Absolutely LUDICROUS.
"Kyle Thiessen, the state's code reviser who has been working on the project along with two attorneys since 2008, said that the work was not without obstacles."
They have been working on it for 5 years. Their budget should be cut to zero, see how they like that obstacle.
Your tax dollars at "work".........
Dear Mr. Inslee: Please stop this trite madness. Sincerely, a WA resident for fiscal responsibility.
 no budget problem, schools are funded, roads fixed good see the state has money to waste    what idiots
Gender-neutral ? You mean like Ken and Barbie ?
yeah cause that will help the economy, god do some real work phacking losers
Just remember Washington...you voted these idiots into office.
To those here who are shocked or even mildly surprised at this, I would wish to politely suggest that you may need to pay a bit more attention to news from the UK and other nations that have been subjected to the cancerous onslaught of The Left. Â Corrupting the language, needlessly destroying proud traditions that hurt no one and gave the nation a sense of pride and history, outlawing or debasing social norms that have served to define and strengthen great cultures for thousands of years....all of this IS the priority of the Left. Â The economy? Crime? The collapse of a coherent, healthy culture? Â A terrible economy and crime rate empowers the Left, in that it will be spun by their fellow-travelers in the media as a reason for even MORE government control, and everyone who dares object is shouted down and called infantile names, even though they are absolutely correct. Â The Left's priority is to redefine truth, redefine history and redefine reality. Â Â
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Never forget, the foundation of the Left is totalitarianism. Â They have grown smarter over the centuries....they no longer try to gain power 'only' Â by murdering people by the hundreds of millions....they've branched out to a long-term attack plan of incrementally destroying nations by destroying their cultures first, because without a coherent culture, a nation is nothing more than a gaggle of warring tribes which are then more easily controlled. Â Central to that goal is taking control of the language. Â Here in the USA Â the Left controls academia, entertainment, 'news' and much of Government. Â And it continues to metastasize.
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As the saying goes, "Socialism arrives by bicycle".
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Let the shrill name-calling begin....
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 @Stoat It was once considered 'normal' for any race other than white to be considered less than human. It was once considered 'normal' for women to be considered to be of less worth than men. et me ask, when would be the appropriate time to address issues that make you feel uncomfortable if not now? Last, how in the world does this affect you in any way?
I hope that made you feel better.
I take heart in the legislature's attention to this gender neutral bill so very early in this session. It means that the other concerns such as state education funding, etc have been relegated to a lesser meaning and lesser importance. Â I have confidence in its implications. The funding for public education was just smoke and mirrors. Lets kick the can down the road as Obama says and as Chicago and the state of California has for years done with the public workers pension fund. Thank heaven. Â We should end this session now without any extra sessions. Hurray. Â Wait till next year.Â
Another example how we do not have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem. What nonsense, penmanship, freshmen...really?
The power addiction of government will soon require us to not recognize gender at all. I for one, kind of liked having a girlfriend, a mother, a grandmother. I enjoyed being a father, having a wife, a daughter.Â
 @subcaller Wow, you really think that's going to change?
These are always pointless conversations. If as a man I say "Who cares about gender neutral words?" I will be considered ANTI female. If I say, "By all means lets change the wording" I will be considered a Kook amongst all others."Â
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@snow surfer I hope I'm not the only woman who wouldn't make the bizarre leap from your wish to not waste millions on pointless semantics, to somehow inferring you're anti-female.Â
What a waist of time and energy...
Â
Lets hear a story about how 65% of Washington voters said that they want a 3/4 vote to pass legislation and the democrats stopped it. Makes me feel really good that my vote means something... NOT
 @Hippo Donut A "waist" of time...? Do you mean a waste?
@Furd @Hippo Donut With a screen name that pays tribute to doughnuts, (s)he may have meant waist instead of waste... :D
Of course doughnuts are indeed worthy of such an honor, especially maple bars and chocolate raised with custard filling.Â
The criteria to judge important legislative issues is broken. Â Such skewed reasoning as reflected in a so called 'gender-neutral' language bill has thrown a monkey wrench in the legislative process. No wonder so called extra sessions are needed. We simply never learn to cut to the chase. And extra time means extra money for the legislature members. Â But there are some cracks beginning to appear. Â Some legislative members (nationally) have chosen not to run again because they declare the process to be faulted.Â
 @George You nailed it.
Totally support this bill.
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"staffing" instead of "manning" the desk, the post, etc.
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It is simple and life-changing for both men and women.
 @flashlight I'm a woman and its not life changing for me- its stupid...
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 @flashlight It is fine as we move forward but to go back over the last 100 (or more) years and changing any and all language that is not gender neutral IS wasted time and money.
@flashlight No it's not.
Hey KOMO. I think you should keep pushing stories like this regardless of how it will enrage people who state that to keep children safe, you must keep them ignorant and bigoted.
 @rhiga More like,  issues that the taxpaying people of washington should be enraged are even being considered in Olympia!Â
Hey KOMO, I think the taxpayers would like to know HOW MUCH we are paying for this 'service'. Â Since these are public employees, their salaries should be public record. Â Could you please let us know how much money is being diverted from the children's immunization program, or the school lunch program? Â Thank you.
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Olympia, since you claim to want to put children first, maybe it would be prudent to shut down this program so the kiddies can get the funding you say they deserve....
 @K. Coleman None actually. It doesn't work that way. Look at the waste that's happening from expense accounts, look at the way the 520 bridge program is going. All of that and you're upset about the discussion of using gender neutral language? Is it that freakin difficult for you to refer to a firefighter as a firefighter and not a fireman, or a police officer instead of a policeman? Give me a break.
 @what? Yup, I agree and I've made some comments about the tolling and waste on OTHER topics too, so this is just ANOTHER waste topic that I'm commenting on. Â
 I actually use the term 'Firefighter', HOWEVER, I do think it's totally idiotic to  go through every record, or law just to change the word from "Fireman".Â
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Since its a big concern, let's talk about money.Think of how fiscally responsible they are being to print from a dot matrix printer?  Which is almost poetry since the 1972 amendment for women's equal rights should have been ratified over 30 years ago.
 @rhiga Today it's just ratified with preferential rights and entitlements for women.Â