Its official: Children in England should no longer be permitted to call each other cupcake.
Thats because the Institute of Physics in England released new guidelines this week that outlined what words children should no longer be allowed to say to each other in school or on the playground, according to The Telegraph.
We used to say Man up, cupcake. Weve stopped that, Janice Callow, deputy head at Fairfields High School in England, told The Sunday Times. "Saying Dont be a girl to a boy if they are being a bit wet is also unacceptable. Language is a very powerful tool. You have to be so conscious of what you are saying to children.
The guidelines urge teachers to enforce rules against certain words and make sure sexist language is taken as seriously as racist language, The Telegraph reported.
Schools have already started enforcing these laws by enlisting volunteer squads of girls to police sexist attitudes and report back to teachers, according to The Telegraph.
Teachers are also being asked to become gender champions and encourage young girls to take more male-heavy subjects, like physics, computer science and economics, The Telegraph reported.
This is something some schools have tried to do in the United States, too, with mixed results. Washington State Universitys gender studies course Women & Popular Culture looked to ban certain words and phrases that they deemed sexist, according to Inside Higher Education.
But the university overturned the ban, saying that classes and instructors couldnt institute such a restriction on language, Inside Higher Education reported.
Blanket bans on specific words or expressions that some may find offensive would seem actually to contradict the true spirit of open and free discussion, Henry Reichman, a professor of history at California State University, told Inside Higher Education.
But on the flip-side, Elon University in North Carolina banned freshman because of its sexist connotations, according to National Review.
The term has often been felt to refer to the vulnerableness of young women in college for the first time, Leigh-Anne Royster, the schools Inclusive Community Wellbeing Director told The College Fix, according to the National Review. Given the rates of sexual violence perpetrated against women on college campuses, it is useful to examine any use of a term that suggests that a group of people just entering college might be targets for such violence in any way.
Greg Zaiser, the vice president of admissions and financial planning, said banning the word freshman and other sexist words may make the school a better place, according to National Review.
As an inclusive community, Elon strives to incorporate language that is current and reflective of our student body, Zaiser told The College Fix.
Thats because the Institute of Physics in England released new guidelines this week that outlined what words children should no longer be allowed to say to each other in school or on the playground, according to The Telegraph.
We used to say Man up, cupcake. Weve stopped that, Janice Callow, deputy head at Fairfields High School in England, told The Sunday Times. "Saying Dont be a girl to a boy if they are being a bit wet is also unacceptable. Language is a very powerful tool. You have to be so conscious of what you are saying to children.
The guidelines urge teachers to enforce rules against certain words and make sure sexist language is taken as seriously as racist language, The Telegraph reported.
Schools have already started enforcing these laws by enlisting volunteer squads of girls to police sexist attitudes and report back to teachers, according to The Telegraph.
Teachers are also being asked to become gender champions and encourage young girls to take more male-heavy subjects, like physics, computer science and economics, The Telegraph reported.
This is something some schools have tried to do in the United States, too, with mixed results. Washington State Universitys gender studies course Women & Popular Culture looked to ban certain words and phrases that they deemed sexist, according to Inside Higher Education.
But the university overturned the ban, saying that classes and instructors couldnt institute such a restriction on language, Inside Higher Education reported.
Blanket bans on specific words or expressions that some may find offensive would seem actually to contradict the true spirit of open and free discussion, Henry Reichman, a professor of history at California State University, told Inside Higher Education.
But on the flip-side, Elon University in North Carolina banned freshman because of its sexist connotations, according to National Review.
The term has often been felt to refer to the vulnerableness of young women in college for the first time, Leigh-Anne Royster, the schools Inclusive Community Wellbeing Director told The College Fix, according to the National Review. Given the rates of sexual violence perpetrated against women on college campuses, it is useful to examine any use of a term that suggests that a group of people just entering college might be targets for such violence in any way.
Greg Zaiser, the vice president of admissions and financial planning, said banning the word freshman and other sexist words may make the school a better place, according to National Review.
As an inclusive community, Elon strives to incorporate language that is current and reflective of our student body, Zaiser told The College Fix.
