Local government officials in a town in England have been informed that use of the words "lady," "ethnic" and "elderly" should all be avoided when referring to constituents lest they offend someone, says the Yorkshire Post.
The Corporate Equalities Unit of the Hull Council in York sent out an email to employees containing a long list of potentially offensive terms. Terms such as "foreigner" and "darling" were lumped in with words like "dyke" and "spastic."
Conservative councillor John Fareham said he was insulted by the list.
"My employees have just told me I can't call a lady a lady," he said. "To me, not calling a lady a lady is an insult, and to further say it is as unacceptable as genuinely derogatory terms for ethnic minorities is appalling.
The Corporate Equalities Unit of the Hull Council in York sent out an email to employees containing a long list of potentially offensive terms. Terms such as "foreigner" and "darling" were lumped in with words like "dyke" and "spastic."
Conservative councillor John Fareham said he was insulted by the list.
"My employees have just told me I can't call a lady a lady," he said. "To me, not calling a lady a lady is an insult, and to further say it is as unacceptable as genuinely derogatory terms for ethnic minorities is appalling.
