General

Don't call groups of people ‘guys’. Don’t call women ‘girls’.

Avoid gendered terms in favor of neutral alternatives, like ‘server’ instead of ‘waitress’ and ‘businessperson’ instead of ‘businessman’.

It’s OK to use ‘they’ as a singular pronoun.

Use the following words as modifiers, but never as nouns:

• lesbian

• gay

• bisexual

• transgender (never ‘transgendered’)

• trans

• queer

• LGBT

Don't use these words in reference to LGBT people or communities:

• homosexual

• lifestyle

• preference

Don't use ‘same-sex’ marriage, unless the distinction is relevant to what you’re writing. (Avoid ‘gay marriage’.) Otherwise, it’s just ‘marriage’.