Purdue Online Writing Lab, a citation website provided by Purdue University available for free to the general public, recently updated its writing guidelines to instruct the avoidance of “stereotypes and biased language.”

“Writing in a non-sexist, non-biased way is both ethically sound and effective,” the Purdue OWL site authors claim. “Non-sexist writing is necessary for most audiences; if you write in a sexist manner and alienate much of your audience from your discussion, your writing will be much less effective.”

Cautioning writers to “[avoid] using language that is stereotypical or biased in any way,” Purdue OWL describes that the general use of “man” as well as its use in professional titles is no longer considered a formal or professional writing style.