There is no excuse not to use gender-neutral language

Chief sub-editor Stephen Manning explains why ‘manning’ isn’t good enough

What is wrong with mankind? I don’t mean the endless cycle of war, suffering and injustice (I will sort all that out in a future column). I mean the word itself.

The Independent favours gender-neutral words and terms where possible, which, when you make a bit of an effort, is all the time.

There is no need to say “mankind” when you can say “humankind” instead. The argument that “man” has two distinct meanings – male; and the species as a whole – and therefore there is nothing implicitly sexist about its usage doesn’t really cut it. Language evolves and adapts, and there’s no good reason to cling to outdated forms of usage.