In a recent private message, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged State Department employees to avoid using gendered terms like mother, father, and manpower. According to a National Review investigation, Blinken stated in a paper titled “Modeling DEIA: Gender Identity Best Practices” dated February 5 that gender is a social construct and that an individual’s gender identification “may or may not correspond with one’s sex assigned at birth.” The Biden administration official urged his department colleagues to use “gender-neutral language whenever possible” to “show respect and avoid misunderstandings.” He also told employees to provide “their preferred pronouns in emails and when introducing themselves in meetings.”
Blinken seemed to err on his advice, saying, “We stand united in honouring the brave men and women who served our country”
“Commonly used pronouns could include she/her, he/him, they/them, and ze/zir,” Blinken stated, stressing that people use multiple pronouns or accept all pronouns in some situations. “This personal decision should be respected,” he added. The cable also directs workers to use gender-neutral language whenever possible and to avoid using problematic phrases such as “manpower,” “you guys,” “ladies and gentlemen,” “mother/father,” “son/daughter,” and “husband/wife.” They have been advised to use better phrases such as “labour force,” “everyone,” “folks,” “you all,” and “parent,” “child,” and “spouse” or partner”.
When speaking, the staffers must avoid using phrases like ‘brave men and women on the front lines,’” the memo says, suggesting to “use more specific language such as ‘brave first responders’, ‘brave soldiers’, or ‘brave DS agents’.” In his last year’s Veterans Day post on X (formerly Twitter), Blinken seemed to err on his advice, saying, “We stand united in honouring the brave men and women who served our country.” When employees inadvertently use the incorrect pronouns to address someone, Blinken recommends them to treat the situation with “subtlety and grace,” while remembering that gender identity “may be fluid, so remain attuned to and supportive of shifts in pronouns.”