United Nations Agency Declares War on ‘Gendered Language’
10th September 2024
The World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO)–global guardian of trademarks and patents–is cracking down on the use of so-called masculine terminology in its communications and documentation.
Out go such words as ‘forefathers,’ ‘lumberjack,’ and ‘cavemen,’ and the phrase ‘brotherhood of man.’ In comes a series of stretched neologisms, with all the charm of something thrown together by committee—if not by a veterinarian trying to reassemble animals amid a butcher’s shop window display.
Despite widespread mockery, the process of eliminating ‘problematic’ words also has a sinister side. The Geneva-based organisation’s new Guidelines on inclusive language document claims that using “masculine-specific” terms risks giving the impression that “women are not represented in certain groups or do not possess certain skills.”