An ‘inclusive language tool’ launched by Microsoft has been criticised for advising writers to type “assigned female at birth”, instead of “biologically female”. The Telegraph has more.
Critics say it amounts to censorship of an individual’s writing and makes a mockery of language, flying in the face of the biological and linguistic meaning of the word “woman” or “female”.
It comes after the Telegraph reported that Google has also started telling users not to use particular words because they are not inclusive enough.
The online giant is rolling out an “inclusive language” function that prompts authors to avoid using certain words and suggests more acceptable replacements.
Microsoft Word has introduced a similar tool, prompting users of the editing function to avoid certain words. Users can opt in or out of the function.
As well as advising people to steer clear of the term “biologically female”, it urges them to change phrases such as Postman Pat to “Postal Worker Pat”, as the former “may imply gender bias”.
It also recommends amending Mrs. to Ms., including changing “Mrs. Thatcher” to “Ms. Thatcher”. In addition, it proposes that users change the word “mankind” in Neil Armstrong’s famous phrase “one giant leap for mankind” to “humankind” or “humanity”.
Critics have objected in particular to the biological definition of a woman being flagged as potentially offensive.
Helen Staniland, a software developer and feminist activist, told the Telegraph: “Microsoft appears to be trying to influence how people discuss social issues, but not really know or understand what they are suggesting.
“What do they mean by gender bias? Why are they suggesting that the perfectly descriptive phrase ‘biologically female’ might imply a gender bias? Why would they presume that ‘assigned female at birth’ might be better?
“It seems that they are trying to jump on the bandwagon of attempting to prevent discussion of ‘biological females’, but their suggestions don’t help them.”
Worth reading in full.
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yep
Moronic.
Well that’s unkind, Hopeless – “TN, BN”. Would you like to think about those you are excluding? Nobody at Microsoft, obviously.
Perhaps we need to go further. Why should “inclusivity” be confined merely to matters of gender and sexuality?
In the spirit of being “inclusive”, we should no longer use terms referring to personal wealth or implying any distinctions on those grounds. Let’s think of how offensive the terms “billionaire” and “beggar” are. We’re all as one, after all.
Terms implying differences in attractiveness are not at all inclusive: so away with beauty – of appearance, or language.
But mostly, away with ideas that your choice of words is your business and your responsibility. Away with crafting your own sentences, thinking your own thoughts.
What proportion of people turn the nagging squiggly-underline function off in Word?
MS Word used to be good, but Libre Office Writer, which is free, is at least as good nowadays.
LO gets my vote.
Libre Office is just as good, can do everything and is free. It’s open source and anyone who is still using Word should give it a try. I’ve been using it for years and many of my colleagues have also switched.
I use WPS Office. Its Chinese but then i’m not writing or storing anything of note. I wouldn’t use it for my new patent application, but its fine for the odd letter and spreadsheet. Microsoft are overstepping the mark, defund them.
They are preparing the way for their own defeat.
When the backlash comes, and it will, not only this stuff will be swept away, but also many things which they currently think they have in the bag for ever.
I bloody hope you’re right.
So do I.
Try explaing why it’s insane to a 16 year old. You will find they cannot grasp one plank of your arguments.
I’m surprised they would even allow the word “female”. It implies the word “male” has meaning too. I thought they wanted to abolish the two genders altogether.
Microsoft avoids English and established, common-use definitions. Because it’s stupid.
Word word word word word word.
Parsed by Microsoft Word for clarity
I’m confused.
Maybe that is what they want but this attack on language is bizarre, like it is from a foreign entity.
I had my first email with some twat telling me his pronouns, i wont ever accept his/her rubbish. Next time I reply to he/him I will send my adjectives.
Yes – I got one of those a short time ago, too. I translated it to “Idiot”.
Once again, Nineteen Eighty-Four was a warning, but these deranged leftists treat it like an instruction manual.
If only Orwell could see this absolute horror show.
it has made me wonder if 1984 and orwell has served an alternative purpose as when pointing out the stark similarities to many people the response is “yeah but that was fiction, not real” its like the predictive programming nature of both covertly popping ideas into people’s heads and when challenging them they are discredited with “that was just a film” as if because the theme was in a book or film it could not happen in real life even though it blatantly is.
This occurred to me, too!
They aren’t leftists. They’re corporatists.
The two are not mutually exclusive. Regardless, they are fundamentally leftist. Seeking to dismantle and replace (though the dismantling is the primary aim) established norms, whether they be moral norms, cultural norms, or norms of language, is the essence of neo-leftism. To call them corporatists, while this is not necessarily untrue, is to woefully miss the truly subversive elements in play.
Mark Zuckerberg amazingly of Facebook & the tech billionaires of Google, Twitter & Youtube are following the blueprint laid out by the German Reichminister from the Ministry for Propaganda Dr Joseph Goebbels who has the look of a proud grandparent on his face
I’ve not upgraded since Word 2003. That poxy paper clip thing was annoying enough for me.
“microsoft word 2025, automatically sends any unauthorised writings to the police”
bill gates approved.
Only 41 years late.
Read this story:
http://www.tnellen.com/cybereng/harrison.html
I’m glad that as everything is so perfect in the world that we can all concentrate on such important matters as this
Uninstall button.
Paper maps, magnetic compass.
Books.
Rivers. Mountains.
Enjoy the real things.
Enough of this fucking nonsense already.
When will this utter tripe cease?
Looking back in history, wokery reminds me most of the Jacobins during the French revolutionary period, as they also aimed to overturn all traditional conceptions of life.
One is also reminded of the 1930s when Fascists and Communists also aimed to do the same.
What all three periods – including our own – also have in common is a financial system with impossibly high debts leading to the destruction of the previous monetary system, leading to these political cults, authoritarianism and war,
“Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.”
-Voltaire
LibreOffice, folks.
Lewis Carroll, Alice In Wonderland
Alice in Wonderland, FFS?
That’s a downtick too far!
Typical unthinking response from robotic down-ticker.
There’s a very, very simple solution to this. Don’t use Microsoft- or Google products.
Tell them why. Tell them they lost your business due to their irredeemable wokeness.
Then tell them that you won’t be coming back.
What a load of bolleaux.
Another cock and balls story?
How about c*%t? That’s gender neutral
It is heartening to see so many posters take Microsoft to task for kowtowing to the trans cult and trying to ‘nudge’ us all into distorting our language to accommodate their societally damaging and scientifically untenable ideology.
However, I would wager a lot of Daily Skeptic fans inputted their critical comments using the very software package they are railing about!
One doesn’t have to be a hypocrite (and an unwitting tool of the trans high priests, who, research shows, don’t even reflect the general views of the community they claim to represent), when it takes only minutes to download an alternative equivalent package.
Several years ago, underwhelmed by how Word performed, I switched to a free version of some software called TextMaker, which has proved more than adequate for my (albeit fairly limited) purposes.
Voting with your feet is the best way to avoid having your words (and, by implication, thoughts) policed, while simultaneously hitting wannabe Big Brother Microsoftit where it hurts most – in the wallet.
It is heartening to see so many posters take Microsoft to task for kowtowing to the trans cult and trying to ‘nudge’ us all into distorting our language to accommodate their societally damaging and scientifically untenable ideology.
However, I would wager a lot of Daily Skeptic fans inputted their critical comments using the very software package they are railing about!
One doesn’t hve to be a hypocrite (and an unwitting tool of the trans high priests, who, research shows, don’t even reflect the general views of the community they claim to represent), when it takes minutes to download any one of several equivalent packages.
Several years ago, underwhelmed by how Word performed, I switched to a free version of some software called TextMaker, which has proved more than adequate for my (albeit fairly limited) purposes.
Voting with your feet is the best way to avoid having your words (and, by implication, thoughts) policed, while simultaneously hitting wannabe Big Brother Microsoftit where it hurts most – in the wallet.
None of this is silly or trivial, please do not make that mistake. This is organised, intricate, carefully crafted and near universal. This is war. We are at war, and have been for some decades. We are at war and we are losing badly.
Why would anybody pay for these programs when there are perfectly capable free open source alternatives like Libre Office, which as a bonus, don’t nag.
One of Windows 10 latest updates overides your freedom to stop MS from updating your OS.
Since Win 98 I’ve switched off the updates and never had a security issue. But now MS has slipped their ‘update medic’ into your machine and overridden this on Win 10, so even if you delete updates, or disable the update in services, it simply resets itself.
The standard cure was to set your internet to ‘metered’ which, until recently stopped tne download. This too is now ignored as MS pours its unnecessary and bloated updates into your home.
This of course then places a machine in your home over which MS has control for such nonsense as woke spellcheckers.
I’m now trialling use of the firewall to foil them. Time will tell.
Doesn’t human contain the word man?
Yep, and person is equally insidious!
I would join the discussion but I would find it impossible to describe this nonsense without using ‘profanity and abuse’ towards the idiots behind this shite!
There’s an excellent meme doing the rounds. It’s 30 seconds of frankly weird individuals ‘self-identifying’ (no males of females), followed by Billy Conolly’ full-face close up. He simply shouts: “Just Eff off! Just Eff right off!” Perfick response!
This is very Brave New World. Limit the words in a language and there won’t be any way to talk back against the tyrants in charge.
What about manhole or manipulation or manifold, manifest etcetera etcetera?