Amber Hikes, Director of the Mayor’s Office of the LGBT Affairs, said the legislation could allow Philadelphia "to pull up an extra seat at the table and invite trans, gender non-conforming and non-binary people to sit down." (Photo from Amber Hikes)
Philadelphia voters will soon be able to vote to eliminate gendered terms, such as "councilman," from the local constitution.
The City Council of Philadelphia approved the creation of a ballot on Feb. 14. If passed, the amendment will replace the words "councilman" to "councilmember," "councilmen" to "councilmembers," and "councilmanic" to "council" on the Home Rule Charter document, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
Supporters say the change would be more inclusive of women and people who identify as transgender, gender non-conforming, and non-binary.
"[This legislative change would] rectify an archaic but unnatural assumption that men and only men would, could, and should serve in this August body," Councilmember Derek Green told KYW Newsradio.
Philadelphians will be able to vote on primary ballots in May.
“This legislation is an opportunity for the city of Philadelphia to pull up an extra seat at the table and invite trans, gender non-conforming, and non-binary people to sit down," Mayor’s Office of the LGBT Affairs Director Amber Hikes told KYW News Radio.
There is also a push on Penn's campus to eliminate gendered pronouns from classrooms and Penn-affiliated websites.
The amendment aims to replace the words councilman, councilmen and councilmembers with councilmember, councilmembers and councilmanic respectively. (File Photo)
The Physics and Astronomy Department began listing pronouns on student and faculty web pages upon request in Spring 2018. Third-year Physics Ph.D. student Sophie Ettinger started the initiative in hopes of promoting "respectful communication."
Lambda Alliance Chair and College junior Wesley Neal is also working with administrators to diversify pronoun usage on Penn InTouch and is pushing to increase the number of gender-neutral bathrooms on campus.
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