EU chiefs target ban on gendered phrases including iconic movie quotes
EU chiefs want to ban gendered phrases such as the classic Star Trek line: “To boldly go where no man has gone before”.
The bureaucrats say “no man” should be replaced by “no one”.
The phrase, made famous by Captain Kirk (William Shatner), has a red cross next to it in a 61-page toolkit on gender-sensitive communication.
EU agency the European Institute for Gender Equality calls it an example of “where women may be subject to invisibility or omission”.
World War One phrase “no man’s land” should be “unclaimed territory”, they say.
And, with inanimate objects, it is seen as discriminatory to say “the ship slipped her moorings”.
Ex-Tory MP Ann Widdecombe fumed: “It’s ridiculous.”
In 2022, a ban on the word “fishermen” was branded an attack on the English language.
Brussels instead suggested EU staff use gender-neutral terms like “fisherpeople” or “fishers”.
They urged people not to use phrases which “exclude women” such as “Joe Public” and “gentleman’s agreement”.
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An 11,000-word European Parliament document on fishing uses the word “fishers” 84 times.
Tory MP Nigel Mills said: “This is utter madness. It’s an attack on the English language.”
English remains the official language of the EU, despite Brexit.