Un collectif de personnes transsexuelles s’est adressé à Reem Asalem — la rapporteuse spéciale des Nations Unies sur la violence contre les femmes, ses causes et ses conséquences — à propos de sa récente intervention concernant les propositions du gouvernement écossais sur la Réforme de la reconnaissance du genre (gender Rcognition Reform). J’ai organisé cette démarche. Voici l’intégralité de notre lettre.
A group of transsexuals wrote to Reem Asalem – the United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences – regarding her recent intervention on the Scottish Government proposals for Gender Recognition Reform. The letter was organised by me. Here is our letter in full,
George Orwell popularised the word ‘thoughtcrime’, but he also wrote extensively about the destruction of language. This week, the United Nations has been playing that worrying game, of meddling with what people say.
‘What you say matters’, the UN wrote in a tweet. ‘Help create a more equal world by using gender-neutral language if you’re unsure about someone’s gender or are referring to a group,’ its Twitter account urged, telling people to substitute words like ‘mankind’ for ‘humankind’, ‘maiden name’ for ‘family name’ and ‘businessman’ for ‘representative’.
There is nothing bad, of course, about trying not to offend people. But there is something deeply troubling about adapting language in a way that dilutes meaning. And is it really the UN’s place to try and police what people say?
Debbie Hayton