DISPATCHES FROM THE NEWSPEAK DICTIONARY: Biden HHS Instructing Employees to Watch Their Pronouns, Leaked Documents Show.
Last June, when Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary Xavier Becerra appeared before the Senate Finance Committee to testify on the Biden administration’s fiscal 2022 budget, one brief interchange stood out: Toward the end of the hearing, Oklahoma GOP senator James Lankford confronted Becerra on an odd shift in the White House budget proposal’s language. “I noticed you changed a term in your budget work,” Lankford said. “You shifted, in places, from using the term ‘mother’ to ‘birthing people.’ Can you help me get a good definition of ‘birthing people’?”
Becerra demurred. “Well, I’ll check on the language there, but I think if we’re talking about those who give birth, I think we’re talking about, uh . . . I don’t know how else to explain it to you.” The removal of the term “mother,” the HHS secretary maintained, “simply reflects the work that’s being done.”
Becerra neglected to discuss the specific nature of that work. But internal documents obtained by National Review confirm that the administration’s gender-neutral language coincides with a coordinated effort at HHS to implement a new set of rules and standards regarding “equity” and “gender-inclusive correspondence.” The guidance, issued last year, does not specifically cover “birthing people” but does prescribe the use of a number of other gender-neutral terms, often valuing pronoun sensitivity over clarity in official correspondence.
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The new standard on gender-inclusive correspondence instructs HHS employees to “use gender-neutral salutations and forms of address only.” That includes omitting “gendered courtesy titles (Mr., Mrs., Ms.)” in address blocks and in salutations. (“Instead, write ‘Dear,’ followed by the individual’s name, followed by a colon,” the document suggests.) It goes further, advising against gendered pronouns and other terms when in doubt — and even suggesting using the so-called “singular ‘they’” instead:
When writing to an individual whose name is unknown, avoid using gendered salutations (e.g., Dear Sir/Madam). Refer to the context of the communication to identify a suitable, gender-neutral alternative (e.g., Dear colleague, Dear recipient). Similarly, when addressing a group, avoid gendered language (e.g., Dear Sirs/Madams), opting instead for collective salutations that are gender neutral.
In the body of the letter, avoid using masculine or feminine pronouns (he, she) to refer to individuals whose gender or preferred pronouns are unknown. Instead, consider using the individual’s preferred name; using the singular “they,” “them,” and “theirs” pronouns; or using sentence constructions that avoid the use of pronouns.
Flashback: Trans English is the new common tongue. Refinery29 and GLAAD have torn up the dictionary.
“It’s a beautiful thing, the destruction of words.”
