Soldiers and service personnel are being urged to avoid words such as “chaps”, “sportsmanship” and “mankind” under new gender-neutral guidelines.
The suggested etiquette pinned up in toilets at an Army, Navy and RAF training base is intended to help future officers treat women and the LGBT community with respect.
The two-page guide displayed at Defence Academy in Shrivenham, Oxfordshire, was written by the Joint Equality Diversity and Inclusion unit.
It is suggested that the word chaps is swapped for “people, folks, friends or you all” and also suggests the word “mankind” is inappropriate.
Troops are told that “gentleman’s agreement” should be replaced with “unwritten agreement” and “fairness” is used instead of “sportsmanship”. It suggests that “shopper or homemaker” could be used instead of housewife.
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