As the Washington Post reported on June 25, 2021, a new pending law in California would strike the pronoun “he” from many state documents, requiring that state legislation, job descriptions, and the like utilize gender-neutral pronouns.
The pending law, AB 378, which “would remove gendered language from” state provisions, was passed by the state’s legislature, and now awaits approval by governor Gavin Newsom. The law was championed by California Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, who represents the 16th district, which covers much of the East Bay.
In a tweet, Bauer-Kahan wrote “Happy Pride Month! My equality package is headed to the governor. AB378…removes male-gendered language in CA law.” Bauer-Kahan’s tweet also mentions AB439, a related bill that would add nonbinary gender options to death certificates in the state. Bauer-Kahan tweeted that the bill is intended to ensure that “people are respected in their death as they are in life” and that she is “Proud to carry this fight!”.
The bill was endorsed by California’s Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis, who uses the pronouns she/her, and whose title would be among the titles updated in official language by the bill. Previously, many references to the Governor and Lieutenant Governor, among other offices, used the gendered pronoun “he.”
Kounalakis said in a tweet that she was proud to sponsor the bills because “words matter”, and confirmed that AB378 was “now off to the Governor’s desk.”
As the Post reports, AB378 is “part of a long process of updating state laws and documents with gender-neutral terms.” California is making strides in this direction, but it is hardly the first state to do so. Minnesota made the same move as early as 1986 and has already updated pronouns in its official documents.
A California senate document says that “While California has the lead on efforts to promote diversity, equity, and equality, our laws have not kept pace. It’s time we change archaic references within state law that are future-forward and adequately represent those who dedicate themselves to our state.” The bill was supported by California’s women’s caucus, among other organizations.
Other states have made similar moves in the early 2000s and 2010s. Many of these include updates to the titles associated with lower offices or with jobs. For example, the gendered term “patrolman” might be changed to “patrolperson” or “patroller” when referring to a police officer, and the term “he” might be replaced by “he or she,” or the neutral pronoun “they”. Even terms such as “freshman” have been changed in references to state university students in some places, in favor of the gender-neutral “first-year students.”
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Given California’s generally inclusive climate, it may surprise citizens to learn that the state code still contains gendered terms. It’s not immediately clear why updates were not made sooner, but one reason may be that as America’s most populous state, California’s code is especially long and complex, and so making updates may be more challenging — no matter how necessary those updates are in order to keep up with changing times.
Enactment of the bills is a near certainty. Very soon, gendered language is likely to be removed from California’s laws for good.
