Faculty & Staff Resources

• Use “Indigenous Peoples” [uppercase] and avoid using “Aboriginal”, “Native”, or “Indian”.
• Avoid the common possessive construction “Canada’s Indigenous Peoples.” To many, it evokes a sense of paternalism and Colonialism. Use “Indigenous Peoples in Canada” instead.
• Indigenous Peoples in Canada include First Nations, Métis and Inuit.
• Use “First Nation” or “community” instead of “reserve,” unless the story is specifically about the tract of land allocated to a First Nation.
• Do not use “reservation” or “tribal affiliation,” which are Colonialisms.
• Be guided by the preferences of those concerned.
• Ask for spellings and preferred usage.
• Recognize that McMaster University sits on the traditional territories of the Mississauga and Haudenosaunee nations and within the lands protected by the Dish With One Spoon wampum agreement

• Use “older” rather than “elderly”: older adults, the older demographic, an older person
• Give a person’s age (e.g., 8, 38, 88) rather than using imprecise and potentially derogatory terms such as youngster, middle-aged, retiree, senior citizen, elderly.
• In general, avoid labelling people as young or old, unless directly relevant to your story.
• Note: Postsecondary students are not necessarily “young.”

• Avoid using “see,” “look” or “hear,” when you can write “refer to,” “check” or “go to.”
• Avoid clichés that assume everyone is able-bodied, such as “kick-start” or “put your best foot forward.”
• Avoid categorizing persons with disabilities as a homogenous group, such as “the disabled” or “the deaf.”
• Use “person-first language” such as “a person with a disability,” unless the individual has indicated otherwise.
• Use words that are factual, inclusive and non-emotional. For example: “She uses a wheelchair” rather than “she is confined to a wheelchair.”
• Avoid categorizing persons with disabilities as either super-achievers or tragic figures; avoid language such as “suffering with,” “afflicted by,” etc.
• If the disability is not relevant to the context, it is not necessary to write about it.
• Be guided by the preferences of those concerned.
• Refer to these McMaster University sites: accessibility.mcmaster.ca and sas.mcmaster.ca.
• For more resources, go to this Government of Canada site, “A Way with Words and Images”: 

• Use academic and professional titles, but avoid using Mr., Ms, Miss, or Mrs.
• Use “chair” rather than “chairman” or “chairperson.”
• Use “graduate” or “grad,” rather than “alumnus” or “alumna.”
• Use gender-neutral terms to describe occupations. Examples: Police officer, firefighter, flight attendant, mail carrier. Other alternatives: Server or wait staff (instead of hostess), massage therapist (instead of masseuse), garment worker (instead of seamstress).
• Avoid using gendered terms like “man” or “mankind”: try using individuals, people, humanity.
• Ask yourself when writing:
  • Is the individual’s marital or family status — e.g., single, married, divorced, grandmother relevant or important?
  • Would this information be used if the subject were a cisgender man?
• Pronouns: Where possible, reword your sentence to avoid the “he-she/him-her” gender binary:
  • NO: Staff members will have $50 added to his or her pay.
  • YES: Staff members will receive a $50 raise.
• Recognize that gender-neutral terms can be used instead:
  • “They/them/theirs” are gender-neutral, singular pronouns that have been used since the 14th century.
  • Mx. is a gender-neutral honorific sometimes used by those who do not want to used a gendered honorific.

Language about gender identity and other social identities continues to evolve. When writing about a person or group of people, remain sensitive to and respectful of their self-identification.

• Do not mention a person’s gender identity and/or sexual orientation unless relevant to the story. Avoid using the term “sexual preference”.
• Recognize some of the following terms about gender identity and sexual orientation:
  • Gender identity: An individual’s personal and internal sense of their gender, which may or may not conform to their sex assigned at birth.
  • Cisgender: A person whose gender identity matches their sex assigned at birth.
  • Non-binary: Individuals who do not follow gender stereotypes based on the sex they were assigned at birth. A person’s gender identity exists on a spectrum of male, female, neither, or both. Some people prefer the term gender non-conforming or genderqueer.
  • Transgender: A person whose gender identity does not match the sex they were assigned at birth. Use gender-affirming pronouns, even when writing about the individual’s life before transitioning. Some people refer to themselves as both transgender and non-binary. Avoid using the terms “transgendered” or “transsexual” unless the individual says otherwise.
  • Two-Spirit: An umbrella term coined in 1990 at the Indigenous Lesbian and Gay International Gathering used to represent the range of pre-colonial gender identities and sexual orientations throughout Indigenous history. Seek clarity from the individual before using the term and avoid abbreviations to prevent confusion.
• Ask for an individual’s pronouns: Whenever possible, confirm with the individual how they wish to be described. It is best practice to introduce your own pronouns and then ask for clarification from the person you are interviewing, whether you perceive them to be transgender or cisgender. Use the person’s gender-affirming pronoun in your text and make generous use of their name to achieve as much clarity as possible.
• Be guided by the preferences of those concerned.
• Ask for spellings and preferred usage.

The Ontario Human Rights Commission uses the above language (“members of racialized communities”), which encompasses members of the Black community, South Asian communities, individuals who identify as bi-racial, and may include faith-based communities that are frequently racialized such as Muslim, Orthodox Jewish, Sikh, Hindu, etc.

• Current best practice is “racialized person” or “racialized group” instead of the more outdated and inaccurate terms of “racial minority,” “visible minority,” “person of colour,” etc.
• “Black” with a capital B refers to people of the African diaspora. Use as an adjective; never use as a noun, either singular or plural.
• Note that racial categories are socially constructed and complex; individuals and groups are entitled to self-identify.
• Be guided by the preferences of those concerned.
• Ask for spellings and preferred usage