Do not use male terms generically. For instance, fire brigades employ firefighters, not firemen. Generally, use spokesman or spokeswoman rather than spokesperson. The exceptions are when the person’s sex is unknown, or when the person expresses a preference for being called one thing or another.
The feminising suffix -ess (as in poetess) is almost always wrong. Even actress is on the way out; use actor for both sexes except where it would be confusing.
LGBT, LGBTQ+: With so many variations of the acronym, it can be confusing to know which one to use in copy.
In order to include all members of the community, City News has adopted LGBTQ+. Other variations are perfectly acceptable.
But, it’s LGBT+ History Month.
This section is almost entirely copied from the Sky News style guide, which was developed in liaison with LGBT+@Sky, the LGBTQ+ network of Sky employees.
Asexual: a term used to describe a person who does not experience sexual attraction or a desire to have sexual relationships.
Bisexual: a term used to describe a person who has an attraction to more than one gender. Despite bi indicating two, bisexual people can be attracted to people from more than just two gender identities. Also use “bi” as an umbrella term.
see: pansexual, queer
Cisgender: a person whose gender identity matches with the sex they were assigned at birth. The majority of people are cisgender. Also use “cis”.
Gay: a man who is attracted to other men. Sometimes also used as a generic term for lesbian sexuality – some women say they are gay as opposed to lesbian. But, do not use as an umbrella term for the whole community.
Gender/Gender identity: Often expressed through masculinity and femininity, gender is an individual’s concept of themselves. Gender is largely culturally determined, often assumed based on sex assigned at birth.
see: Confusing sex with gender further below
Gender expression: How a person chooses to express their gender, within the societal expectation of gender. A person who expresses their gender in a different way to societal expectation may not, however, be transgender. Always use pronouns which match a person’s gender identity, not their gender expression.
Gender dysphoria: Where a person experiences discomfort and/or distress because of a mismatch between their sex and their gender identity. Also used as a clinical diagnosis for someone who doesn’t feel comfortable with the sex they were assigned at birth.
Gender reassignment: see transitioning
Gender recognition certificate/GRC: a GRC allows a transgender person to be legally recognised in their gender and be issued with a new birth certificate. Not all transgender people apply for GRCs. A transgender person does not need a GRC to change their gender markers at work or to change their gender on other certain documents, like a passport. You have to be 18 to apply for a GRC.
Heterosexual/Straight: A man who is attracted to a woman, or a woman who is attracted to a man.
Intersex: An intersex person is someone who may have the biological attributes of both sexes or may have attributes that do not fit into society’s assumptions about what constitutes as male or female. Intersex people may identify as male, female or non-binary.
Lesbian: A woman who is attracted to other women.
Non-binary: An umbrella term which describes people who do not identify wholly as either male or female. Non-binary identities vary – some non-binary people identify with aspects of binary gender, others reject it completely. Non-binary people commonly use gender-neutral pronouns.
Pansexual: A person whose attraction is not limited to gender identity.
Pronouns: Remain consistent in your pronoun usage across copy and headlines. He/him/his. She/her/hers. They/them/theirs.
Queer: A term used by people across the LGBTQ+ spectrum who want to reject specific labels. Some still view this word as an offensive slur, but it has been reclaimed by many in the LGBTQ+ community. Be careful with use.
Sex: Assigned to a person at birth based on genitalia and reproductive functions. Sometimes sex and gender are incorrectly interchanged.
Transgender: A term used to describe people whose gender is not same as the sex they were assigned at birth. Also use “trans” as an umbrella term.
Transgender man/Trans man/FTM: A person who was assigned female at birth, but now identifies as and lives as a man. Can be shortened to trans man, or FTM (female to male).
Transgender woman/Trans woman/MTF: A person who was assigned male at birth, but now identifies as and lives as a woman. Can be shortened to trans woman, or MTF (male to female).
Transitioning: Steps people take to live in the gender with which they identify. Can include medical intervention, such as hormone therapy or surgery, but not all transgender people can have or want this. Also includes social changes, e.g. name change or telling family and friends.
Transphobia: The fear or dislike of someone based on the fact that they are transgender, including the denial or refusal to accept their gender identity.
Transvestite/Crossdresser: A person who wears clothing associated with a gender other than the one assigned to them at birth, but does not wish to live permanently in that gender. Often associated with the art of drag. Do not refer to a transgender person as a crossdresser or transvestite.
Using 'a': Do not use indefinite articles before someone's sexuality. Use as adjectives, not nouns. By using as a noun, you risk of defining people by their sexuality:
ie Documents which showed that Lord Byron was bisexual...Homosexual: This term is accurate medically, but is outdated. Try lesbian or gay instead.
Transgenders: You wouldn’t say “blacks” or “gays” in formal British Engish. Use transgender people instead.
Transgendered: Analogous with “Jewed” or “womaned”. Use transitioned instead.
Transsexual: This term is outdated. Use transgender or trans instead.
“Real men and transgender men/Real women and transgender women”: Implies that transgender men/women are not their affirmed gender and that their identity is not valid. You wouldn’t say “real men and Black men” or “real women and Jewish women”. Try, for example, cisgender women and transgender women, or simply women.
Confusing sex with gender: Sex is assigned based on genitalia and reproduction. Gender is a person’s concept of themselves, which can sometimes be based on their sex, but sometimes not.
Hermaphrodite: An outdated term that was used to describe a person who is intersex. Use intersex instead.
“X was born/was a man/woman”: You do not give birth to a man, you give birth to a baby. A person who is transgender has felt uncomfortable with the gender assigned for the majority of their life, meaning they never truly identified with that gender.
Use X was assigned male/female at birth.
Deadnaming: When a person transitions, the name that they are given at birth becomes their deadname. Deadnaming is the act of calling someone by this name. We should not refer to someone by their deadname, in the same way we wouldn’t refer to someone who has gone through a divorce by the surname of their former partner. It can be very painful for a transgender person to be called by their deadname and reinforces the idea their transition is not valid.
In the case of a prominent figure, such as Caitlyn Jenner, Elliot Page or Chelsea Manning, you can use the phrase then identifying as x or then known as x, in caption if, for example, any archive material is required for the story. Using they can avoid any awkwardness switching between he and she.
“Gay/transgender lifestyle”: A lifestyle is a decision made which usually results in little backlash e.g. becoming a vegan. Members of the LGBTQ+ community do not choose to be who they are and often struggle to live their lives without persecution, sometimes fearing for their lives, therefore you should avoid using “lifestyle” in this way. Also, use sexual orientation instead of sexual preference, as preference may also suggest a degree of voluntary choice, whereas the scientific consensus is that sexual orientation is not a choice.
“Gay/straight couple”: Unless you have asked, you will not know the sexuality of partners. Use same-sex and opposite-sex couple instead.
Frequent use of they/them: If you find yourself using they/them often and your copy begins to get confusing to read, find alternative neutral ways to describe the person e.g. the singer, the actor, the writer, the American.
Mentioning a person’s trans identity: It is fair to mention that a person is transgender if it is pertinent to the story that you are writing about.
Confused over how to describe someone? It’s okay to ask a person how to identify. People are more often than not very happy to discuss who they are and their sexual and gender identities.