Saying 'husband/wife' violates Christian 'dignity,' school says

A page on the University of Dayton’s website recommends that students avoid using gendered language, including “husband” and “wife.”

The webpage, posted under the Women’s Center section of the website, lists several examples of gender-specific words alongside their “gender inclusive” alternatives, suggesting for instance that students say “workforce” instead of “manpower” and “intermediary” or “go-between” rather than “middleman.”

In addition, the primer advocates the use of “business person” instead of “businessman” or “businesswoman,” “mail carrier” or “postal worker” instead of “mailman,” and “representative” or “legislator” instead of “Congressman” and “Congresswoman.”

The page also discourages the use of gendered titles for professions, urging students to instead employ “generic occupational titles like administrator, doctor, lawyer, nurse, and secretary,” because “It is easier to see that these jobs can be done by a person of any gender when using gender inclusive or gender neutral language.”

"As a Christian and educational community, we recognize that every person has innate dignity because all people are made in the image and likeness of God and we seek to create an environment where all persons feel respected, safe, and valued," the website explains.

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“The gender inclusive language [page] is an educational resource—it is neither a guide nor an advisory nor does it represent University of Dayton or Women’s Center policy—and has been posted on the website for at least three years,” the university told The College Fix.

UD sophomore Piran Talkington, however, told Campus Reform that even if it is not official policy, the website is an example of the infantilization of today’s college students.

“While my university is calling this an ‘educational resource’ instead of a ‘guide’ or ‘advisory,’ they are setting a precedent to start this possible, horrible future where words have lost all history and power,” he argued. “Should we be inclusive? Absolutely. Should we change historical words with meaning to PC terms for no real reason? Absolutely not.”

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“With today's world leaning toward over-inclusivity, this language guide does not surprise me at all. Without a doubt, women and men should be equal. There is no question about that, or at least there shouldn't be,” Talkington added.

“Nobody should treat someone differently due to their gender in today's world. But, by changing words like ‘husband,’ ‘wife,’ and ‘mankind’ you start to erase the history and significance of the journey that has been undergone in order to get society to the point where it is today.”

Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @kassydillon