The University of Manchester has issued a new “inclusive language” guide to help “promote equality” on the campus – effectively advising against the use of non-gender-neutral terms such as “mother” and “father”.
Instead, the university says, we should call our loving mums and dads simply “parents” or “guardians".
The guide also encouraged people to refer to brothers and sisters as “siblings” and try to avoid dubbing fellow humans "women" and "men". “People” and “individuals” are better alternatives, the uni staff say.
“We use gender-neutral terms, rather than those that make sex distinction,” the guide explains, clarifying that even the word “man-made” should be avoided.
The university denied effectively “banning” any words as alleged by some media outlets, saying that the document was simply a “guidance” and recommendation to the staff.
"This is well established terminology and does not in any way mean that we are banning the words 'mother' or 'father',” the spokesman told BBC.
But the “inclusive” guide has still provoked fury online, with some people ridiculing the fact that based on this “language policing”, even the university should replace its name now…
“Will it also strike Man from the word Manchester?” one person joked.
British Conservative MP Jonathan Gullis called the guidance "wokery gone mad".