In Pelosi's War on Gendered Terms, She Forgot One Thing

Leah Barkoukis | January 05, 2021 11:30 AM

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Massachusetts Rep. James McGovern (D) announced proposed changes to the House rules this month that removes gendered language, such as mother, father, sister, brother, and so on, replacing them with parent, spouse, sibling, etc.

McGovern said in an announcement that the changes "ensure we are inclusive of all Members, Delegates, Resident Commissioners and their families – including those who are nonbinary." Pelosi, meanwhile, noted that "advancing inclusion," among other proposals, reflected their "priorities as a caucus."

The changes were swiftly criticized as "reprehensible," with some arguing that it was just the latest example of the Left continuing its "war on family."

Author Abigail Shrier pointed out that in her effort to be inclusive, Pelosi is also waging a war on women.

“Mother” — among the most important concepts in human life — would be erased from the lexicon of the US House of Representatives. It’s important to recognize how radical this is. And no, it isn’t akin to updating federal law to replace “policeman” with “police officer,” a rational corrective sought by feminists for generations.
There, the terms were changed for the benefit of clarity and accuracy. “Fireman” became “firefighter” to reflect that women could be firefighters under the law and, in fact, were already serving as such. However much fun it is to say “mailman,” we all knew and know female mail carriers. It was silly, archaic and inaccurate to pretend such jobs could be filled only by men.
But “mother” is a fundamental biological, emotional, familial reality. It captures the irreplaceable bond between a baby and the woman who bore her in her womb. That others can be excellent guardians — a fact no one disputes — can’t justify extirpating Mom from our vocabulary. (New York Post)

There's another irony here that Pelosi seems to have overlooked. If she truly believes language should be gender-neutral, she forgot to lead by example and change her Twitter bio.