The woke University of Bristol has banned a slew of allegedly offensive terms, including “gendered” words like “manpower” and “mankind,” as well as age-related nicknames like “millennial” and “baby boomer.”
GB News reported that the offending “gendered” words will be replaced with bland, politically correct alternatives like “workforce” and “humankind” — the Justin Trudeau-approved “peoplekind” appears to have been a bridge too far — because the university believes they can cause offence and contribute to stigmas.
There is also concern about so-called “ableist” language, such as using the term “able-bodied” instead of “non-disabled.”
The University of Nottingham, which, like Bristol, is a member of the Russel Group of allegedly “world-class” institutions, goes even further, advising against using terms like “blind spot” or “the request fell on deaf ears.”
“The idea that in a university, people need to be dictated to in this way is really insulting to students and academics, we should be able to cope with words,” said Dr Joanna Williams of the University of Kent, an academic freedom advocate.
“These words have evolved over a long period of time and they don’t have sexist associations,” she insisted.
“Free speech really is at risk because of these ridiculous ideas,” added Nigel Mills, an MP for the Conservative Party.
Woke language edicts can be found not only in universities, but also in venerable national institutions that might be expected to be intrinsically conservative.
The intelligence and security agencies MI5, MI6, and GCHQ, for example, have issued guidance not only warning against “gender-neutral language,” but also urging people not to use words and phrases “that reinforce the dominant cultural patterns,” citing “strong” and “grip” as examples.
Similarly, the Royal Navy has issued language guidelines that are just as progressive as those issued by Bristol and Nottingham universities, outlawing terms like “manpower” and “unmanned” on the grounds that they are “problematic or no longer appropriate” in the modern era.