diff --git a/categories/base.py b/categories/base.py
index 0c64b08..6c91a39 100644
--- a/categories/base.py
+++ b/categories/base.py
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ with customizable metadata and its own name space.
 from django.contrib import admin
 from django.db import models
 from django import forms
-from django.utils.encoding import force_unicode
+from django.utils.encoding import force_text
 from django.utils.translation import ugettext_lazy as _
 
 from mptt.models import MPTTModel
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ class CategoryBase(MPTTModel):
 
     def __unicode__(self):
         ancestors = self.get_ancestors()
-        return ' > '.join([force_unicode(i.name) for i in ancestors] + [self.name, ])
+        return ' > '.join([force_text(i.name) for i in ancestors] + [self.name, ])
 
     class Meta:
         abstract = True
diff --git a/categories/models.py b/categories/models.py
index 12dfa92..ec7366f 100644
--- a/categories/models.py
+++ b/categories/models.py
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 from django.core.urlresolvers import reverse
 from django.db import models
-from django.utils.encoding import force_unicode
+from django.utils.encoding import force_text
 from django.contrib.contenttypes.models import ContentType
 from functools import reduce
 try:
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ class Category(CategoryBase):
         except NoReverseMatch:
             prefix = '/'
         ancestors = list(self.get_ancestors()) + [self, ]
-        return prefix + '/'.join([force_unicode(i.slug) for i in ancestors]) + '/'
+        return prefix + '/'.join([force_text(i.slug) for i in ancestors]) + '/'
 
     if RELATION_MODELS:
         def get_related_content_type(self, content_type):