EU Wants to BAN Iconic Star Trek Phrase
The European Union has set its sights on banning classic gendered phrases, including the iconic Star Trek line: “To boldly go where no man has gone before”. And it’s not just this famous phrase; they are gunning for other related expressions as well.
EU Gender Sensitivity Toolkit
The EU bureaucrats are proposing to replace “no man” in the legendary line with “no one”. This initiative is part of a 61-page toolkit on gender-sensitive communication aimed at eliminating gendered phrases that could potentially cause invisibility or omission of women.
Phrases Under Fire
The famous World War One term, “no man’s land” is also on the chopping block, with the EU suggesting it should be referred to as “unclaimed territory” instead. Likewise, the phrase “the ship slipped her moorings” is seen as discriminatory with inanimate objects and marked for elimination.
Political Backlash
Former Tory MP, Ann Widdecombe criticized the move, labeling it as “ridiculous”. This isn’t the first time the EU has come under fire for such actions. In 2022, the ban on the word “fishermen” was heavily criticized as an attack on the English language. Instead, Brussels proposed gender-neutral terms such as “fisherpeople” or “fishers” for EU staff.
Pushback in Parliament
An 11,000-word document from the European Parliament about fishing contains the word “fishers” 84 times, in an effort to adhere to the gender-sensitive guidelines. However, this has sparked backlash from Conservative MP Nigel Mills, who described it as “an attack on the English language”. Despite Brexit, English remains the official language of the EU, but efforts to maintain gender-neutral language seem to be gaining momentum.