In an internal memo from the Secretary of State has cautioned staff to avoid using “problematic” terms and refrain them from using gender specific terms such as “brave men and women on the front lines,” “manpower,” “you guys,” “ladies and gentlemen,” “mother/father,” “son/daughter,” and “husband/wife.”
The memo encourages staff to instead use terms such as “brave first responders,” “labor force,” “everyone,” “you all,” “folks,” “parent,” “child,” and “spouse/partner.”
State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a press conference, “If you look at the memo, as I have done, it’s a standard government practice to try to encourage people to just to be respectful of others, and use the terms with which others are comfortable, and talk to people the way they would like to be addressed. And nothing more than that.”
Miller also added that although the memo did have Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken’s name on it, it might not have come directly from Blinken personally. “When it comes to these types of cables, they all come out with the Secretary’s signature on it. That’s the standard department practice, has been for years, It doesn’t mean that it’s necessarily a memo from the secretary himself,” he said.
By - FZ
Comments