The European Union has been criticised for a new initiative calling for legislators and policymakers to abandon "gendered language".
A 61-page document, titled "Toolkit on Gender-sensitive Communication", has been compiled by The European Institute for Gender Equality.
It outlines offending language and provides alternatives. For example, it says the WWI phrase "no man's land" should be replaced with "unclaimed territory", while "Joe Public" should be repalced by "average citizen".
It also suggests that the order of common phrases such as "King and Queen" or "brother and sister" should be swapped sometimes to put the female first.
The European Union has been criticised for a new initiative calling for legislators and policymakers to abandon "gendered language"
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But Tory MP Lee Anderson dubbed EU policymakers "idiots" for creating the document, while fellow Conservative MP Tim Loughton accused the EU of "trying to turn everyone within its borders into a single characterless homogenised entity".
Anderson told GB News: "The idiots that dream this stuff up need to lie down in a dark room. What a load of balls, or to really get them all gendered up I say male re-productive equipment to the lot of them."
Responding to the paper, Loughton added: "Extraordinary and yet another vindication of why we had to decouple ourselves from this increasingly out of touch and delusional Leviathan.
"Contrary to what the EU thinks you cannot abolish biological sex but this is another example of the EU trying to turn everyone within its borders into a single characterless homogenised entity."
The document advises against the use of terms such as "pushy" and "shrill", which it says have "strong connotations that are strongly associated with only women".
Instead, it recommends people use words such as "assertive" for "pushy" and "high-pitched" for "shrill".
Tim Loughton accused the EU of "trying to turn everyone within its borders into a single characterless homogenised entity"
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It also says that the word "virile", which is seen to be "strongly associated with men" should be replaced by "strong or energetic".
The phrase, "To boldly go where no man has gone before" - a classic line from Star Trek - is cited as an example where “women may be subject to invisibility or omission”.
The European Institute for Gender Equality says: "To tackle gender inequality, we must look at the way we communicate."
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Lee Anderson dubbed EU policymakers "idiots" for creating the document
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It adds: "This toolkit provides guidelines for the use of gender-sensitive language in writing.
"Gender-sensitive communication ensures that women and men – and those who do not conform to the binary gender system – are treated as persons of equal importance and dignity.
"Language is a reflection of the attitudes, behaviours and norms within a society. It also shapes people's attitudes as to what is 'normal' and acceptable.
"Women play an active role in society, yet – all too often – we use language that ignores or minimises their contribution. Words matter in shaping our worldview. For example, the dominance of masculine words for general references can reflect assumptions about gender roles and influence readers."
