{"id":170523,"date":"2024-09-24T17:58:04","date_gmt":"2024-09-24T17:58:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yogaesoteric.net\/?p=170523"},"modified":"2024-09-24T17:58:04","modified_gmt":"2024-09-24T17:58:04","slug":"orwellian-un-agency-declares-war-on-gendered-language","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yogaesoteric.net\/en\/orwellian-un-agency-declares-war-on-gendered-language\/","title":{"rendered":"Orwellian UN Agency Declares War On \u2018Gendered Language\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

A United Nations agency has been branded \u2018Orwellian\u2019 after it told staff not to use the term \u2018Englishman<\/em>\u2019 in the latest crackdown on \u2018gendered\u2019 language.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), one of the 15 specialized UN agencies, has started cracking down on the use of so-called masculine terminology in its communications and documentation.<\/p>\n

The WIPO is the world\u2019s number one source for global intellectual property (patents, industrial designs, copyright, trademarks etc.)<\/p>\n

The European Conservative<\/em> reports: Out go such words as \u2018forefathers<\/em>,\u2019 \u2018lumberjack<\/em>,\u2019 and \u2018cavemen<\/em>,\u2019 and the phrase \u2018brotherhood of man<\/em>.\u2019 In comes a series of stretched neologisms, with all the charm of something thrown together by committee\u2014if not by a veterinarian trying to reassemble animals amid a butcher\u2019s shop window display.<\/p>\n

Despite widespread mockery, the process of eliminating \u2018problematic\u2019 words has a sinister side. The Geneva-based organisation\u2019s new Guidelines on inclusive language<\/em> document claims that using \u201cmasculine-specific<\/em>\u201d terms risks giving the impression that \u201cwomen are not represented in certain groups or do not possess certain skills<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Toby Young, founder of the Free Speech Union:<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is precisely what George Orwell warned us about. Banning certain words and phrases to advance a dogmatic political ideology is a hallmark of totalitarianism<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

When WIPO suggests its staff use \u2018birth attendant<\/em>\u2019 as an alternative to \u2018midwife<\/em>,\u2019 it\u2019s as if it intends to erase the history of a mostly female occupation that had to fight the restrictions of a male-dominated profession. Even pets get molested, linguistically speaking, with \u2018man\u2019s best friend<\/em>\u2019 being replaced instead with \u2018a faithful dog<\/em>.\u2019<\/p>\n

While its intellectual property arm reorganises the English language, the broader United Nations is coming in for sustained criticism. Hostility to \u2018gendered language<\/em>\u2019 coincides with the dire position of millions of women and girls supposedly under the auspices of the UN.<\/p>\n

WIPO\u2019s new guidelines, according to director general Daren Tang, are:<\/p>\n

\u201cNot prescriptive and common sense and clarity of text should always prevail<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yet when applied, they will work against both clarity and common sense. There\u2019s very little in reality\u2014or \u2018lived experience<\/em>,\u2019 in the jargon\u2014to encourage people outside of WIPO to adopt its language, even businesses working with patents and trademarks. Faced with public bemusement, the logical next step is for the agency to take a more aggressive approach to enforcing the guidelines.<\/p>\n

It would be better if the English language was left to change by itself, evolving organically through use and custom, as it has done throughout its history. The WIPO needs to stop imposing its rules, and recognise instead that an \u2018Englishman\u2019s home is his castle<\/em>\u2019, or\u2014to use the new UN-friendly jargon \u2013 \u2018an English national\u2019s home is their castle<\/em>.\u2019<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

yogaesoteric
\nSeptember 24, 2024<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A United Nations agency has been branded \u2018Orwellian\u2019 after it told staff not to use the term \u2018Englishman\u2019 in the latest crackdown on \u2018gendered\u2019 language. The World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), one of the 15 specialized UN agencies, has started cracking down on the use of so-called masculine terminology in its communications and documentation. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1364],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-170523","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/yogaesoteric.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170523","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/yogaesoteric.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/yogaesoteric.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yogaesoteric.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yogaesoteric.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=170523"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/yogaesoteric.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170523\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":170527,"href":"https:\/\/yogaesoteric.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170523\/revisions\/170527"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/yogaesoteric.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=170523"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yogaesoteric.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=170523"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yogaesoteric.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=170523"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}