EU shuns 'statesman' but 'midwife' is OK

Published on Monday 16 March 2009 22:20

A EUROPEAN Parliament guide to "gender neutral" language is a voluntary code intended for staff and not politicians, officials in Brussels insisted last night.

The booklet, which states the terms "Mrs" and "Miss" should be avoided, has been condemned as "political correctness gone mad" by the Scottish Conservative MEP Struan Stevenson.

The guidelines also urge replacing all "gender-specific" terms, such as "statesman", with gender-free alternatives, such as "political leader".

Terms such as "Mrs" and "Miss", and their equivalents in other European languages, should be avoided because they are not neutral. Instead, women's full names should be used.

Mr Stevenson said he objected to being told what words he could use, and fellow Tory MEP Philip Bradbourn challenged the European Parliament's top civil servant, Harold Romer, to reveal the cost of a booklet he said was "a waste of taxpayers' money".

But a European Parliament spokesman said: "The information is a guideline only and it is intended for staff and not for MEPs. It is particularly useful for translators and interpreters, who are being asked to consider gender-neutral languages when they are translating documents or interpreting MEPs speaking in the chamber.

"But it is also clear that where MEPs are using gender-specific terms, interpreters are told they should accurately interpret what they are saying, using the equivalent gender-specific terms where appropriate".

In general, any gender-specific job description is supposed to be avoided, including anything with "man" in the title. But the guide says "midwives" is acceptable usage – presumably because "midhusbands" are extremely rare.