No more 'he' or 'she'. House approves gender-neutral terms in its official language

Jan. 4—A code of conduct change in the U.S. House of Representatives swaps gendered language for gender-inclusive terms in its official language.

Load Error

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat from California, and Rules Committee Chairman James McGovern, a Democrat from Massachusetts, outlined the proposal Friday. It's included in a package of "sweeping" rule changes that, among other things, promote diversity and inclusion in the 117th Congress.

The House approved the package Monday in a 217-206 vote on party lines, The Hill reports.

The rule change does not ban the use of gendered language in the House. Instead, it renames specific, official language found in the House rules.

Here are the words found in various parts of the code will change:

— The term seamen will be replaced with seafarers.

— Chairman will become chair.

— Terms for familial relationships — such as mother, father, daughter, son, sister and brother — will be swapped with terms such as parent, child and sibling.

— The phrase "submit his or her resignation" will be replaced with "resign."

— The phrases "he or she serves" and "he or she holds" will be replaced with "such Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner" serves or holds, respectively.

— The words himself and herself will be replaced with themself.

"As House Speaker, I am pleased to join Chairman Jim McGovern in introducing this visionary rules package, which reflects the views and values of the full range of our historically diverse House Democratic Majority," Pelosi said in a statement about the proposal.

The change comes as a record number of LGBTQ lawmakers are joining Congress.

Data from the LGBTQ Victory Fund, an organization "dedicated to electing openly LGBTQ people who can further equality at all levels of government" found a historic number of openly LGBTQ candidates won their races in the 2020 election and that more were elected to the U.S. House than ever before.

It also comes as activists and linguists across the world over the last few years have pushed for more gender-inclusive language by creating new terms and repurposing existing ones, The Washington Post reports.

Several GOP lawmakers previously denounced the proposed change, including Rep. Kevin McCarthy from California, who called it "stupid." McCarthy previously supported the Defense of Marriage Act in 2011, which outlawed same-sex marriage, The Hill reports.

Kelly Loeffler, who is running against Democratic challenger Rev. Raphael Warnock in a runoff election for one of Georgia's U.S. Senate seats, also decried the proposal on Twitter, calling it the "far-left's priorities."

But some Democrats have defended the change in response to GOP criticisms.

"From my standpoint, the gender-neutral language is just consistent with an effort for the House, in the best tradition of the House, to reflect the gorgeous mosaic of the American people in the most sensitive fashion possible," Rep. Hakeem Jeffries from New York told reporters, according to Fox News.

McGovern said in a statement to Axios that it's "ridiculous that in the middle of a worldwide pandemic, this is what some on the extreme right want to fight about."

"Only in Congress would it be a scandal to be succinct," McGovern said, according to Axios. "We are being inclusive, efficient and accurate."

The rule change will also "close a potential ethics loophole" and "makes it clear everyone regardless of gender identification or orientation is subject to ethics regulations," Axios reports.

In addition to the gender-neutral language, the package includes whistleblower protections, removes floor privileges from former lawmakers "convicted of crimes related to their House service or election" and makes permanent the Office of Diversity and Inclusion.

"Through months of consultation across our caucus and Congress, we have developed a rules package that makes the People's House more accountable and responsive to all Americans," Pelosi wrote in the statement.