EU calls for ‘gendered language’ to be banned, with phrases such as ‘no man’s land’ or ‘Joe Public’ axed… and ‘king and queen’ phrased ‘queen and king’ to put the female first

The EU has called for ‘gendered language’ such as ‘no man’s land’ and ‘Joe Public’ to be axed.

A 61-page document advises policymakers, legislators and the media to revise the order of common phrases such as ‘King and Queen’ or ‘brother and sister’ in which the male comes first. 

It suggests to ‘try swapping the order of these phrases sometimes’. 

Bureaucrats say ‘Joe Public’ should be replaced with ‘average citizen’ and ‘no man’s land’ should be substituted with ‘unclaimed territory’.

Tory MP Nick Fletcher has called the guidelines ‘nonsense’ and argued that the EU had ‘far more serious issues’ that it should be concerned about.

The ‘Toolkit on Gender-sensitive Communication’ document compiled by the The European Institute for Gender Equality highlights language that needs to be changed and notes alternatives.

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