Newly reelected Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler announced Wednesday that the city would remove gendered language from its City Charter to be “more inclusive of all gender identities.”
“The language of the documents that guide the City should reflect our community,” he said in a tweet. “Today, Council authorized the City Auditor to remove feminine and masculine terms from the City Charter. This important step will help make our documents more inclusive of all gender identities.”
The language of the documents that guide the City should reflect our community. Today, Council authorized the City Auditor to remove feminine and masculine terms from the City Charter. This important step will help make our documents more inclusive of all gender identities.
— Mayor Ted Wheeler (@tedwheeler) November 13, 2020
Philadelphia and Tulsa have also both removed gendered references from their own city charters within the last year, according to Fox News.
The move comes one week after Wheeler narrowly won reelection after coming under fire from protesters, police officials and the Trump administration for failing to get a handle on nightly protests and rioting that have plagued the city for months.
Portland and Oregon are both often seen as bastions of progressive ideals. In 2017, Oregon became the first U.S. state to allow residents to select “not specified” as their gender on applications for driver’s licenses, learner’s permits and identity cards.