Mar 24, 2006  |  By: ERIC ERVIN  | COMMENTS     

Sometimes words can hurt, especially when they are used by thousands of journalists reaching millions of readers worldwide.

That’s why gay and transgender activists are applauding recent changes to the Associated Press Stylebook & Libel Manual that they say update terms to more accurately identify gay, lesbian and transgender individuals.

Among the changes, the AP now tells reporters not to use the phrase "sexual preference," which activists say suggests that being gay is a choice.

"The Stylebook is an ongoing institution," said Kristin Gazlay, AP’s deputy managing editor for national news. "As times change, terminology changes."

The Associated Press, the self-described "oldest and largest news organization in the world," is a nonprofit cooperative owned by its 1,500 newspaper members.

Often dubbed the "journalist’s bible," the AP Stylebook dates back to 1953 and is widely used by media professionals.

For the 2006 edition, the Stylebook offers updated entries for the terms "gay," "lesbian and lesbianism," "sex change," "transgender" and "transsexual." The changes are currently available online and will be included in the 2006 print edition.

"For the AP Stylebook to update these entries is a significant milestone," said Neil Giuliano, president of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, a gay media watchdog group.

GLAAD leaders met last year with AP’s senior editors in a series of discussions about the proposed terminology updates.

"Given the fundamental inaccuracy of terms like ‘sexual preference’ and the pejorative connotations of words like ‘homosexual,’ the AP’s style guidelines have been updated to reflect contemporary usage that’s more fair, more accurate and more inclusive," Giuliano said.

THE TERM "GAY" first appeared in the AP Stylebook in 1977. At the time, it was considered acceptable to use as an adjective, such as in "gay lifestyle." But the 2000 edition discouraged that phrase.

In the 2006 edition, the entry for "gay" reads: "Used to describe men and women attracted to the same sex, though lesbian is the more common term for women. Preferred over homosexual except in clinical contexts or references to sexual activity."

The new edition also tells users to "include sexual orientation only when it is pertinent to a story, and avoid references to ‘sexual preference’ or to a gay or alternative ‘lifestyle.’"

The entry for "lesbian and lesbianism," which had been unchanged since being introduced in 1977, has been deleted.

THE NEW AP Stylebook also changes references for terminology related to transgender people. Previously, the entry for "sex changes" told reporters to use the pronoun "preferred by the individuals who have acquired the physical characteristics (by hormone therapy, body modification or surgery) of the opposite sex."

If that was not known, they were told to refer to the individual based on how the person lived publicly.

Entries for "sex changes" and "transsexuals" in the new style manual now send readers to the entry for the term "transgender," where journalists receive instructions to essentially follow the transgender person’s pronoun preference, without reference to how they may have changed their bodies.

Officials with the National Center for Transgender Equality also participated in meetings with AP editors. Mara Keisling, the group’s executive director, praised the style changes, especially deleting the focus on surgery or hormones.

"That’s just a small part of who I am," Keisling said. "Most transgender people don’t ever have [gender-reassignment] surgery."

Eric Hegedus, president of the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, said terminology is always evolving and a guide such as the Stylebook has to be updated.

"We totally welcome it," Hegedus said. "We see it as definite progress."