The Mother Of All Debates
The Member for Western Victoria, Bev McArthur, has criticised the move towards gender-neutral language by an Australian university.
The Australian National University’s Gender Institute has recently released language guidelines for staff and students in teaching.
It urges for terms such as breast feeding to be called ‘chest feeding’, and ‘birthing’ and ‘non birthing’ parents to replace the words ‘mother’ and ‘father’.
Mrs McArthur has warned the Victorian Parliament that such methods - which proclaim to achieve gender equality - are unnecessary and undesirable.
“In the name of inclusivity, it is hugely alienating. It obviously risks devaluing women,” Mrs McArthur said.
“More insidiously, it implies that those who do not adapt and adopt the convention are arrogant, uncaring and deliberately hostile.
“I applaud the intentions. We should always be caring and considerate – ‘do to others as you would be done by’ should be the mantra. But the idea that changing the language in this way is caring, is fundamentally misguided,” she said.
Mrs McArthur said the effort is no doubt aimed at including trans-masculine parents.
“I believe we can show inclusivity and understanding without making a mockery of the language – or devaluing men or women in the process.
Mrs McArthur said the pursuit of gender-neutral language is divisive and potentially offensive to the bulk of people who relate as a man or woman and cherish being a father or mother.
“Projecting one’s own inference of gender-neutrality on someone potentially condemns that person unfairly as an uncaring person.
“I hope we can refer to mums and dads, breastmilk and breastfeeding for a long time yet.
“The core needs of the child and the support of parents – of whatever makeup – is the most important issue, not the semantics and contortion of language.
25 February 2021