Editing Gender neutrality in English (section)

===Job titles===
{{Main|Gender-specific job title}}
Gender-neutral job titles do not specify the gender of the person referred to, particularly when the gender is not in fact known, or is not yet specified (as in job advertisements). Examples include ''firefighter'' instead of ''fireman''; ''flight attendant'' instead of ''steward'' or ''stewardess''; ''bartender'' instead of ''barman'' or ''barmaid''; and ''chairperson'' or ''chair'' instead of ''chairman'' or ''chairwoman''.

There are also cases where a distinct female form exists, but the basic (or "male") form does not intrinsically indicate a male (such as by including ''man''), and can equally well be applied to any member of the profession, whether male or female or of unspecified sex. Examples include ''actor'' and ''actress''; ''usher'' and ''usherette''; ''comedian'' and ''comedienne''. In such cases, proponents of gender-neutral language generally advocate the non-use of the distinct female form (always using ''comedian'' rather than ''comedienne'', for example, even if the referent is known to be a woman).

Terms such as ''male nurse'', ''male model'' or ''female judge'' are sometimes used in cases where the gender is irrelevant or already understood (as in "my brother is a male nurse"). Many advisors on non-sexist usage discourage such phrasing, as it implies that someone of that gender is an inferior or atypical member of the profession. Another discouraged form is the prefixing of an ordinary job title with ''lady'', as in ''lady doctor'': here ''woman'' or ''female'' is preferred if it is necessary to specify the gender. Some jobs are known colloquially with a gender marker: [[washerwoman]] or laundress (now usually referred to as a laundry worker), [[tea lady]] (formerly in offices, still in hospitals), [[lunch lady]] ([[American English]]) or dinner lady ([[British English]]), cleaning lady for [[cleaner]] (formerly known as a [[charwoman]] or charlady), and so on.