The uproar over taking ‘man’ out of ‘manhole’

The Conversation ^ | 7/23/19 | Shannon Dea Shannon Den Professor of Philosophy, University of Waterloo

[DallasBiff]

A new city ordinance in Berkeley, Calif., that officially changes the name from ‘manhole cover’ to ‘maintenance cover’ has stirred up a media commotion. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu).

It is not every day that a change to a municipal code for a medium-sized city makes international news. But when city council in Berkeley, Calif., had its first reading of a proposal to remove gendered language from its municipal code, the media went to town.

The 14-page proposal provides a rationale for the changes, cites legal and grammatical support, specifies the wording that will change and estimates the cost of the initiative at a mere $600. The proposal was part of Berkeley city council’s consent agenda — that is, the portion of any agenda that is deemed so pro forma and uncontroversial that it isn’t brought to the floor for discussion. From Berkeley’s perspective, this was all pretty dry business.

Almost immediately though, the proposal generated dozens of high-profile media stories, the overwhelming majority of which touted in their headlines one particular proposed change: the replacement of “manhole” with “maintenance hole.”

[DallasBiff]

Back some 58 tears ago, my Mother(RIP) would drag me to her shopping in Pittsburgh, Kaufmans and Horne's, and she always said beware of open manholes while walking.

I appreciate sewer workers, what would Ed Norton say?

Have fun it's Friday.

[SunkenCiv]

Grace Slick hardest hit!

[z3n]

Call it a womanhole.

[Political Junkie Too]

When was the last time Berkeley sent a woman down one of those things?

-PJ

[Sacajaweau]

This has been going on since the 1980s...I worked for a municipality back then and we were redoing our contract formats and this as******* idea came up. Idiots...

[4yearlurker]

I remember this same story making the news back in the late 1970s.

[Red Badger]

Sewer Access Cover...................

[Scrambler Bob]

All this interest in ‘holes’.

Front hole
Back hole
now, manhole, oops maintenance hole.

Next is front maintenance hole, ..., etc., just wait and see.

[realcleanguy]

I find all this “Gender affirming/apologies” stuff to be the dumbest thing that has happened in this country this century. People need to grow up.

[Dilbert San Diego]

Ive heard the same happened in some places, where signs which read “Men Working” , such as on road maintenance, have been banned. Supposedly its offensive to women to suggest that men are doing such jobs.

[Scrambler Bob]

Actually, they did not take “man” out.

They just added a bunch of other letters-

—i-tenance hole.

[ViLaLuz]

Don’t forget the ridiculous Bonus Hole.

[Biblebelter]

Does pot hole promote drugs?

My bad I forget maryjane is pretty much legal now.

[gundog]

I think a DEI redesign is long overdue. Let’s make them oval.

[metmom]

Here in NH I’ve seen *raised steel structures”.

I could about see out my ears with as much eye rolling I did over that.

God, spare us from PCness.

[Seruzawa]

Idiocracy writ large.

[for-q-clinton]

We can call it a womanhole if that makes them happy.

[Political Junkie Too]

Yet we never see women at these job sites.

How many women do we see walking the girders of high-rise buildings under construction?

How many women do we see changing the light bulbs at the top of bridges and antenna towers?

How many women do we see climbing down manholes into the sewer systems?

-PJ

[heartwood]

Mainhole?

Do the few women who work underground really care that access is called a manhole?

This has got to be the doing of a bureaucrat who never turned a wrench in her/zer/xis life.

[The Louiswu]

Man has already been removed from manhole in some cities in Colorado