Secretary of State Antony Blinken reportedly instructed State Department officials in a recent internal memo to refrain from using sexist terms such as “mother,” “father,” and “human resources.”
According to the Feb. 5 letter, Biden administration officials said in a memo that gender is a social construct and that a person’s gender identity “may or may not correspond to the sex assigned at birth. There are cases,” he argued.
The memo was obtained by National Review and is titled “Modeling DEIA: Gender Identity Best Practices.”
Blinken encouraged his colleagues at the State Department to use “gender-neutral language whenever possible” to “demonstrate respect and avoid misunderstandings.” He also suggested that employees identify their preferred pronouns when introducing themselves in emails and meetings. According to the outlet.Â
Blinken said in the memo that determining a person’s gender identity based solely on appearance or name is “potentially problematic” and sends a “harmful and exclusionary message.”
However, he asks staff to “not pressure anyone to say their pronouns.”
“Commonly used pronouns include she/her, he/him, they/them, and ze/jill,” the Secretary of State explained, adding that in some cases people use different pronouns. and accepted all pronouns.
“This is a personal decision that must be respected,” Blinken wrote.
Commonly used terms such as “talent,” “ladies and gentlemen,” “mother/father,” “son/daughter,” and “husband/wife” should be avoided. The Secretary of State said the terms have been replaced with words such as “workforce,” “you,” “people,” “you,” “parents,” and “children.” “spouse” or “partner” instead.
“When speaking, avoid using phrases like ‘brave men and women on the front lines,'” the memo continued, “‘brave first responders,’ ‘brave soldiers,’ or ‘brave D.S. Agent”.
Last year, in a certain year, Veterans Day X PostBlinken himself appeared to have misguided himself, writing: “We stand together in honor of the brave men and women who have served our country.”
Blinken urged staff to handle the gaffe “with sensitivity and grace” if they accidentally use the wrong pronoun when addressing someone, but also said that gender identity “is fluid. We are constantly adapting to change and being collaborative, as changes may occur. With pronouns.
The State Department did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
