The Biden administration was ridiculed after the Government Accountability Office reportedly banned male and female terms.
What are the details?
The GAO, the government’s main watchdog organization, issued a new language style guide that bans the use of male and female terms and “wording that diminishes anyone’s dignity” in the workplace, according to a leaked October internal memo obtained by DailyMail.com.
The GAO is responsible for investigating federal spending. Zina Merritt, the agency’s chief diversity management officer, issued the guidance in an “inclusive language” memo, the Daily Mail said.
“Inclusive language allows us to support GAO’s mission by appropriately addressing all members of society,” the memo reads, according to the outlet. “The overarching goals are to respect the identities and preferences of all people and to avoid wording that diminishes anyone’s dignity or humanity.”
The style guide suggests replacing the word “man-made” with “artificial,” “synthetic,” or “manufactured,” the Daily Mail said, adding that the language guide replaces “manned” with “crewed” or “piloted.” Other banned words include “manpower,” “unmanned,” and “policeman,” the outlet said.
The memo warns staff to “be aware of the distinction” between sex and gender identity and to “avoid equating the two,” the Daily Mail said.
“When it is necessary to use binary terminology, avoid implying that all people identify with the sex or gender binaries, or that all people share all the biological characteristics of their assigned sex,” the memo states, according to the outlet.
The language guide also prohibits the use of “dehumanizing” terms, including “alien,” “illegal alien,” “illegal immigrant,” and “illegals” when referring to “people who are not U.S. citizens,” the Daily Mail said.
‘Forcing a woke ideology down our throats’
Conservatives slammed the GAO’s language policy, citing it as another example of the administration of President Joe Biden “regulating language” and pushing to promote “woke ideology.”
Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin stated, “If Biden and the radical leftists in his administration focused on the real problems facing America — forty-year high inflation, out of control crime, open borders and a flood of deadly drugs — instead of forcing a woke ideology down our throats, our country would be in a far better position to tackle the problems he has exacerbated,” the outlet reported.
The Daily Mail added that a spokesperson for Texas Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz said, “The GAO is tasked with investigating federal spending and performance, but under President Biden they’re wasting valuable government time and resources on regulating language.”
Cruz’s spokesperson blasted the move as “typical of the radicals” and “just the latest in Biden’s relentless push to politicize government agencies,” the outlet noted.
A spokesperson for the GAO told DailyMail.com, “This language is currently under review and changes are being considered.”
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