The United States is embroiled in two wars, facing dangerous pirates menacing shipping lanes around the Middle East, pondering a threat by Russia to deploy nuclear-capable arms in space, watching a flood of illegal immigrants from all over the globe race across the southern border, and seeing allies lose confidence in our ability to lead.
So what keeps America’s top diplomat up at night? You guessed it … “misgendering.”
Secretary of State Anthony Blinken issued a message to his employees warning about “the threat of ‘misgendering.’”
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According to Blinken’s directive to staff, “Making assumptions about another person’s gender identity based on their appearance or name ‘can be problematic’ and send a ‘harmful, exclusionary message.’”
He also advised staff to avoid using terms such as “mother/father,” “son/daughter,” and “husband/wife.”
Blinken’s global cable was called “Modeling DEIA: Gender Identity Best Practices,” and its purpose was to “increase understanding of gender identity and provide guidance on gender identity language and best practices that support an inclusive work environment.”
The National Review recently confirmed the authenticity of the cable.
“The cable says that gender is a social construct and that gender identity is a person’s ‘innermost concept of self as masculine, feminine, a blend of both, or neither,’ which ‘may or may not correspond with one’s sex assigned at birth.’”
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Blinken’s message also encourages State Department employees to add their pronouns in their email signatures and to announce them when introducing themselves in meetings, as an effort “to show respect and avoid misunderstandings.”
“Commonly used pronouns could include she/her, he/him, they/them, and ze/zir,” Blinken’s cable said.
The secretary even added that some people use more than one set of pronouns, while others may use all of the pronouns.
“This is a personal decision that should be respected,” he advised.
Blinken further instructed his people to float “gender-neutral language whenever possible.”
Words such as “manpower,” “you guys,” “ladies and gentlemen,” and even “mother/father,” “son/daughter,” and “husband/wife” ought to be avoided, the message continued.
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The State Department’s preferred option is to use phrases such as “labor force,” “everyone,” “folks,” “you all,” and “parent,” “child,” and “spouse” or partner.”
“When speaking, avoid using phrases like ‘brave men and women on the front lines,’” Blinken added, telling his employees that they should “use more specific language such as ‘brave first responders,’ ‘brave soldiers,’ or ‘brave DS agents.’”
But as National Review noted, this is a natural progression for Blinken.
“In recent years, the State Department has hired a chief ‘diversity and inclusion officer,’ appointed a ‘special representative for racial equity and justice,’ and named a ‘special envoy to advance the human rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex Persons,’” National Review pointed out.
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“The department has also announced a third gender marker on passports for people who don’t identify as male or female; planned to hold a ten-day after-hours event to educate staffers about diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility topics; and mandated that U.S. diplomats ‘advance’ DEI as part of the criteria for promotions.”
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