There will be no manholes in Berkeley, California. City workers will drop into sa国际传媒渕aintenance holessa国际传媒� instead.

Nothing will be manmade in the liberal city but sa国际传媒渉uman-made.sa国际传媒� And students at the University of California, Berkeley, will join sa国际传媒渃ollegiate Greek system residencessa国际传媒� rather than fraternities and sororities.

Berkeley leaders voted unanimously this week to replace about 40 gender-specific words in the city code with gender-neutral terms sa国际传媒� an effort to be more inclusive thatsa国际传媒檚 drawing both praise and scorn.

That means sa国际传媒渕anpowersa国际传媒� will become sa国际传媒渉uman effortsa国际传媒� or sa国际传媒渨orkforce,sa国际传媒� while masculine and feminine pronouns like sa国际传媒渟he,sa国际传媒� sa国际传媒漢er,sa国际传媒� sa国际传媒漢esa国际传媒� and sa国际传媒渉imsa国际传媒� will be replaced by sa国际传媒渢heysa国际传媒� and sa国际传媒渢hem,sa国际传媒� according to the measure approved Tuesday by the City Council.

The San Francisco Bay Area city is known for its long history of progressive politics and sa国际传媒渇irst ofsa国际传媒� ordinances. Berkeley was among the first cities to adopt curbside recycling in the 1970s and more recently, became the first in the U.S. to tax sugary drinks and ban natural gas in new homes.

Berkeley also was the birthplace of the nationsa国际传媒檚 free-speech movement in the 1960s and where protests from both left- and right-wing extremist groups devolved into violence during a flashpoint in the countrysa国际传媒檚 political divisions soon after President Donald Trumpsa国际传媒檚 election.

Rigel Robinson, who graduated from UC Berkeley last year and at 23 is the youngest member of the City Council, said it was time to change a municipal code that makes it sound like sa国际传媒渕en are the only ones that exist in entire industries or that men are the only ones on city government.sa国际传媒�

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sa国际传媒淎s society and our cultures become more aware about issues of gender identity and gender expression, itsa国际传媒檚 important that our laws reflect that,sa国际传媒� said Robinson, who co-authored the measure. sa国际传媒淲omen and non-binary people are just as deserving of accurate representation.sa国际传媒�

When the changes take effect in the fall, all city forms will be updated and lists with the old words and their replacements will be posted at public libraries and the council chambers. The changes will cost taxpayers $600, Robinson said.

Removing gendered terms has been slowly happening for decades in the United States as colleges, companies and organizations implement gender-neutral alternatives.

California Gov. Gavin Newsomsa国际传媒檚 wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, changed a Sacramento political tradition by adopting the unofficial title sa国际传媒渇irst partnersa国际传媒� instead of sa国际传媒渇irst lady,sa国际传媒� saying itsa国际传媒檚 more inclusive. The change reflected Siebel Newsomsa国际传媒檚 experience as an actress and filmmaker focused on gender politics and inequality.

But formalizing the shift in the sweeping way that Berkeley is doing is sa国际传媒渞emarkable and sends a message,sa国际传媒� Rutgers University linguistics professor Kristen Syrett said.

sa国际传媒淎nytime yousa国际传媒檙e talking about something where gender is not the issue but you use a gendered term, that immediately sends a message of exclusion, even if itsa国际传媒檚 a dialogue that has nothing to do with gender,sa国际传媒� said Syrett, who recently spearheaded an update to the guidelines on inclusive language for the Linguistic Society of America.

For Hel Baker, a Berkeley home caregiver, the shift is a small step in the right direction.

sa国际传媒淎nything that dismantles inherent bias is a good thing, socially, in the grand scheme of things,sa国际传媒� the 27-year-old said.

sa国际传媒淚 donsa国际传媒檛, by any means, think this is the great championing for gender equality, but you gotta start somewhere,sa国际传媒� Baker added.

Lauren Singh, 18, who grew up in Berkeley, approved of the move, saying, sa国际传媒淓veryone deserves to be represented and feel included in the community.sa国际传媒�

Not everyone agreed with the new ordinance. Laramie Crocker, a Berkeley carpenter, said the changes just made him laugh.

sa国际传媒淚f you try to change the laws every time someone has a new opinion about something, it doesnsa国际传媒檛 make sense. Itsa国际传媒檚 just a bad habit to get into,sa国际传媒� Crocker said.

Crocker, 54, said he would like city officials to focus on more pressing issues, like homelessness.

sa国际传媒淟etsa国际传媒檚 keep it simple, get back to work,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淟etsa国际传媒檚 figure out how to get homeless people housed and fed. He, she, they, it sa国际传媒� theysa国际传媒檙e wasting my time.sa国际传媒�

Olga R. Rodriguez And Samantha Maldonado, The Associated Press

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