Officially, there is not a single manhole in the city. Nor is there a fireman or a craftsman.
The city of Berkeley, California, on Tuesday eliminated gendered terms from its municipal code.
The holes in streets where “repairers” will access utilities will now be called “Maintenance holes.”
Council voted to replace all gendered terms with a prescribed list of neutral words, reports SF Gate. The ordinance will wipe all gendered pronouns from the city code, replacing “she” and “he” with “they.”
'Manpower' will in future be referred to as 'human effort' after Berkeley decides its municipal code will be gender-neutral: https://t.co/xOxBbmsVM1 pic.twitter.com/owwQSEfSex
— Berkeleyside (@berkeleyside) July 17, 2019
The revisions will cost about $600, SF Gate reports.
“Manpower” becomes “human effort.” “Firemen” and “firewomen” become “firefighters.” Your “sister” will now be your “sibling.”
“Sorority” and “fraternity” will henceforth be “collegiate Greek system residence.”
If you thought #California was nuts look at what #Berkeley is doing with words containing specific gender! pic.twitter.com/veAKftshgj
— American Horse? (@wildwas2112) July 18, 2019
