The Daily Wire obtained an internal guide for the Department of the Interior (DOI) that urges the government to use “inclusive language.”
The U.S. Department of the Interior Inclusive Language Guide was published for “official use only” and details a number of terms that employees are encouraged to avoid.
“This guide has been developed as part of the Department’s efforts to prevent and combat discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation,” the guide reads. “This document provides guidance to DOI personnel regarding the use of inclusive language as departmental standards and affirms the Secretary’s commitment to a mission where every person is treated with respect and dignity, cultivating an environment where everyone can work and live without fear, no matter who they are or whom they love.”
According to the guide, these ideas are “reflected in the Constitution.”
Some of the department’s guidelines implore employees to be “sensitive to labels,” “avoid false hierarchies,” and use “person-first and identity-first” language.
Some of the terms that should be avoided, the guide says, include “husband,” wife,” “cockpit,” “addict,” “abusive relationship,” “survivor,” “blind person,” and others.
Instead of calling someone a “paraplegic,” the government encourages its employees to call the individual a “person with paraplegia.” The same principle is used for a variety of physical and mental conditions.
The document also addresses pronoun usage.
“Pronoun use requires specificity and care on the user’s part, and staff should always use the person’s identified pronouns,” the guide states. “Staff should refrain from the term “preferred pronouns” because it implies a choice about one’s gender.”
“When referring to individuals whose identified pronouns are not known or when the gender of a generic or hypothetical person is irrelevant within the context, use their name or a singular ‘they’ to avoid making assumptions about an individual’s gender,” the document adds. “It is recommended to use ‘they,’ ‘them,’ ‘their,’ for example. In informal writing, such as emails, plural pronouns may be used as a shortcut to ensure gender inclusiveness.”
DOI also declares that using terms with a binary gender implication, such as “opposite sex,” “opposite gender,” “another sex,” and “another gender,” are to be avoided. “The word opposite implies strong differences between two things as noted above, some individuals do not identify with either gender or these phrases would then ignore the existence of those individuals,” the department claims.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) also requires pronoun use.
American Faith reported that a recent policy under the Gender Identity and Non-Discrimination Guidance compels all HHS employees to address their colleagues by their chosen names and pronouns, though the repercussions for those not adhering to the new guidance were not clarified.
