In the latest example of left-wing linguistic totalitarianism, the Department of the Interior published a guide instructing bureaucrats to use “inclusive language” by abandoning supposedly offensive words such as “cockpit,” “husband,” and “mother.”
The guide was “developed as part of the department’s efforts to prevent and combat discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.” It suggests that “inclusive, bias-free language” will be accepted by everyone “regardless of their gender, biological sex, race, religion, national origin, age, or generation.”
The document tells employees to “avoid using terms that use ‘black’ to mean something bad or negative and ‘white’ to mean positive or less harmful” and “consider the order in which you present groups of people, as it can imply that first mentioned dominates the later mentioned.”
However, it also warned that “the introduction of new terms to avoid bias may introduce comprehension issues,” in a stunning lack of self-awareness.
In a section about “inclusive language for gender,” the document says that the term “birth sex” is “disparaging for many individuals that identify as transgender, gender-nonconforming, or nonbinary” and suggests that “assigned sex” or “sex assigned at birth” is preferred.
The adjectives “male” and “female” are to be avoided, while “they,” “them,” and “their” are supposed to be used when referring to people if their preferred pronouns have not been explicitly shared. Additionally, “Mr./Ms./Miss/Mrs.” should only be used sparingly, with “Mx.” being used when someone’s pronouns are unknown.
The document also noted that terms such as “asexual, bisexual, queer, polysexual, and pansexual” have “definitions [that] are ever evolving.”
Beyond general guidance, the document also provided a list of specific words that should be avoided and their preferred replacements. Instead of saying “aunt” or “uncle,” you should say “parent’s sibling.” Instead of “cockpit,” you should say “flight deck.” Instead of “right-hand man” you should say “point person.” Instead of “opposite sex,” you should say “different sex.” The list of words determined to be offensive continues, including “freshmen,” “manmade,” “heterosexual,” “middleman,” and “sexual preference.”
Read more at Washingtonexaminer.com
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