Gender-neutral language: Berkeley changes manholes to 'maintenance holes,' brother and sister to 'sibling'

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Thursday, July 18, 2019
Berkeley manholes will now be called 'maintenance holes'
"Manholes" are officially a thing of the past in the city of Berkeley.

BERKELEY, Calif. -- Don't call it a manhole. It's a "maintenance hole."

Tell your brother sibling that man-made human-made manholes maintenance holes will now be renamed with gender-neutral language.

It's not the only term that's been changed. Here's the "hole truth."

The Berkeley city council approved an ordinance eliminating gender-preference language in the municipal code.

Brother and sister will be replaced with "sibling."

Man-made will now be "human-made," "artificial," or "manufactured." Manpower will be referred to as "human effort."

Gendered pronouns like "he" and "she" will be replaced by "they" or "them."

Sororities and fraternities will now be called "collegiate Greek system residences."