Forbidding the use of “husband,” “wife,” “dad,” “mom”

A professor at the University of Florida is forbidding her students to use words like “husband,” “wife,” “dad,” and “mom” as being insufficiently inclusive.

From Peter Hasson, Students Banned From Saying Mom or Dad | The Daily Caller:

In the syllabus for her “Creativity In Context” class — a required course for any student pursuing a minor in Innovation — U[niversity o]F[lorida] professor Jennifer Lee informs students of her four paragraph long classroom “communications policy” that she says will enforce “ethical conduct” in the classroom.

“The following policies and guidelines will be followed in this course,” the policy begins, followed by a bullet point instructing students to “Use inclusive language.” The policy mandates that students “[s]peak in a way that does not make assumptions about others based on “norms”, stereotypes, or one’s own identity or experience.”

The syllabus explains that this means replacing the words “boyfriend”/”girlfriend” with the more inclusive “partner” or “significant other.” The rule applies to conversations about married couples too: saying “husband” or “wife” is forbidden. Even the words “mom” and “dad” have a more “inclusive” alternative — students are told to use the word ‘family” instead.

By using the new words, Lee explains, students will be using speech that “is inclusive of alternative orientations and family structures, and free of stereotypes.”

Students are also required to comply with professor Lee’s “safe education environment policy” — distinct from her “communications policy” — which warns students that “any behavior or language that makes others feel unsafe or unwelcome in this classroom can and will not be tolerated.” Lee openly acknowledges that this no-tolerance policy covers “interrupting or ignoring others.”

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