Inclusive Language

Avoid using “he” or “she” when referring to a generalized individual, and avoid “he/she” or “s/he” under any circumstances. A more readable solution is to use the plural forms. Instead of “the author writes her impressions,” when the gender is otherwise unknown, use “authors write their impressions,” or rephrase the sentence. If use of gendered terms is unavoidable, alternate between “she or he” and “he or she.”

Third-person plural pronouns “they” and “them” has been generally accepted to stand in for the gendered, third-person singular pronouns “he” and “him” and “she” and “her.” These pronouns have been adopted by non-binary individuals, although there exist pronouns for non-binary subjects.

Gender-specific words should be replaced with gender-neutral words that have the same meaning. Use gender-neutral occupational terms such as “chairperson” or “chair” and “police officer.”

The option to include pronouns has been added to the university’s templates and guides for business cards, email signatures, and name tags. Visit the Templates & Guidance section of our website for more information.

Be mindful of using the appropriate terms and be inclusive. A person's sexual orientation and gender identity should be not mentioned unless relevant to the content.

2SLGBTQI+ stands for Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex and all other gender identities such as asexual, pansexual, and polyamorous.

Gay and lesbian are the preferred terms to describe people attracted to the same sex; homosexual is considered offensive by some and should not be used.

Transgender is an umbrella term for people whose gender identity and/or gender expression differs from what is typically associated with the sex they were assigned at birth. It includes people who identify as non-binary.

Two-Spirit is a contemporary, pan-Indigenous term specific to the 2SLGBTQ+ community.  However, not all Indigenous people that fall under the spectrum identify as Two-Spirit people and hold multiple identities.

Third-person plural pronouns “they” and “them” have been generally accepted to stand in for the gendered, third-person singular pronouns “he” and “him” and “she” and “her.” These pronouns have been adopted by non-binary individuals. 

• USE: "Students must submit their assignments on Brightspace," or, "Each student must submit their assignment on Brightspace," INSTEAD OF: "Each student must submit his or her assignment on Brightspace."
• USE: "Max was happy that they received an award for their research," INSTEAD OF: "Max was happy that he received an award for his research."

Always check with the person for how they identify. Remember that all individual identities are always complex, culturally sophisticated, geographically specific, and/or regionally distinct.

Capitalize the proper names of nationalities, peoples, races, and tribes.  For example:

• Amish
• Arab
• Caucasian
• First Nations
• Inuit
• Indigenous
• Latin
• Asian
• Chinese
• Indian (from the sub-continent of India)

NOTE: ‘white’ are not races and are written in the lowercase. When used to describe a person, the capitalization of the adjective Black recognizes an identifiable community, a particular shared experience and specific history weighted with centuries of injustice

Hyphenated descriptions such as German-Canadian or Jamaican-Canadian should be avoided as they may put inappropriate emphasis on the person’s ethnic background. However, if such a description is relevant to the piece and if the person prefers it, it may be used. Unless it’s critical to the story, avoid any descriptor of a person’s race, skin colour, religion, ethnicity, and identifiable ‘racial’ background.

Avoid generalizations and stereotyping based on race and ethnicity.  Be respectful of all cultural backgrounds and be inclusive in recognizing the diversity of Saint Mary’s University.

Terms such as ‘visible minority’ and ‘person of colour’ are increasingly becoming more outdated and inaccurate.  If relevant, use the following terms to describe persons or groups: “racialized person,” “member of a racialized group,” or “racialized group.”

Whenever possible, be specific about the group, people or community, and defer to the community or individual(s) on how they prefer to be identified.

Indigenous refers to the first inhabitants of Canada, and includes First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples.

Inuit refers to specific groups of people generally living in the far north and means people in the Inuktitut language. Inuk means person. Do not use “Inuit people” as it is redundant. As an adjective, use Inuk when describing a person (ie. “an Inuk Doctor”) but use Inuit if describing more than one (ie. “three Inuit doctors”). Inuit can be used as an adjective for everything else (e.g. “Inuit drum, Inuit community”). Many Inuit prefer to be called Inuit instead of Indigenous.

Métis refers to a collective of cultures and ethnic identities that resulted from unions between Aboriginal and European people in what is now Canada.

Refer to First Nations peoples by their name. In the case of the largest group of First Nations peoples on the territory of SMU, L’nu (Ll’nuk,plural) is the name they call themselves, and is the name preferred by many Indigenous intellectuals, academics, elders and communities. L’nu is an abbreviated form of a longer word meaning “the people.”

Always capitalize the term Indigenous as it is a proper noun.

Indigenous is the preferred term of use over Aboriginal and is used in an international, transnational and global context. The term includes Aboriginal or First Peoples of Canada as well as other countries.  The term is widely accepted and can be used interchangeably with Aboriginal.  Capitalize Aboriginal and Indigenous in all instances.

Inuit means people in the Inuktitut language while Inuk means person. Do not use “Inuit people” as it is redundant. As an adjective, use Inuk when describing a person (ie. “an Inuk Doctor”) but use Inuit if describing more than one (ie. “three Inuit doctors”). Inuit can be used as an adjective for everything else (e.g. “Inuit drum, Inuit community”). Many Inuit prefer to be called Inuit instead of Indigenous

Do not use the term Eskimo under any circumstances.

Do not use “Canada’s Indigenous people” to describe the Indigenous people that are in the country; instead use "First Nations peoples in Canada". Avoid using “Indigenous Canadians,” “Native Canadians” and the like.

The use of the term Indian is for people and/or institutions from the country of India.

Use First Nation or community instead of “reserve,” unless the story is specifically about the tract of land allocated to a First Nation.

Mi’kmaw is the singular form while Mi’kmaq is a plural noun.  Examples:

The Mi’kmaq have a rich history and culture.
The Mi’kmaw culture.
Saint Mary’s University is located in Mik’ma’ki the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq.

This section is to address physical disabilities, learning disabilities, and mental health disabilities.

The person should always come first-not the disability. Use language that emphasizes abilities and conveys a positive message rather than focusing on a person’s limitations or disabilities.  Use the following:

              a person with a disability
              persons with a disability (not people)
              students/employees/faculty members with a disability
              a person with cystic fibrosis

The word ‘disabled’ is an adjective not a noun.  Do not use ‘the disabled.’ If appropriate, explain a person’s disability instead of focusing on the descriptor ‘disabled.’ For example:

              Mary has a neurological condition and uses a wheelchair.

Do not describe an individual as ‘mentally ill’ unless it’s pertinent to a story and diagnosis is properly sourced.  When used, identify the source for the diagnosis and rely on people with mental illness to talk about their own diagnosis. Mental illness is a general condition.

Specific disorders are types of mental illness and should be used whenever possible.  Examples:
              He was diagnosed with schizophrenia, according to court documents.
              She was diagnosed with anorexia, according to her parents.
              He was treated for depression.

Do not use derogatory terms, such as handicapped, crippled, physically challenged, insane, crazy/crazed, nuts or deranged, unless they are part of a quotation essential to the story.  Avoid descriptions that connote pity, such as afflicted with, suffers from or victim of. 

              Rather, he has obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Avoid loaded and judgemental terms as ‘victim’, ‘suffer’, ‘sufferer’ and the like.  That person with that certain condition might not see him or herself as either a victim or a sufferer.  Rather than use others’ value-laden or negative references, defer to the factual.  Avoid using mental health terms to describe non-health issues.

Chronic conditions and disabilities are both visible as well as non-visual.  Be sensitive to this and don’t assume that because you don’t know someone is living with a disability that they are not.