Words at work: Attempt to ban ‘hey guys’ from workplace slammed by Julie Bishop
AN attempt by Australian of the Year David Morrison to ban the word “guys’’ in the workplace has been blasted by Deputy Liberal Leader Julie Bishop.
NSW
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AN attempt by Australian of the Year and former Army chief David Morrison to ban the word “guys’’ in the workplace was yesterday blasted by Deputy Liberal Leader Julie Bishop an infringement on the freedom of speech.
Australia’s most senior female politician led a chorus of criticism against the campaign, fronted by Mr Morrison, which calls for Australians to stop using terms such as “guys’’ when referring to mixed gender groups.
Ms Bishop said the campaigners for political correctness should not try to interfere in free speech at workplaces.
“I think we can take this kind of concern too far,” she said. “There are some generic words that should not cause offence.
“I don’t think we should try to interfere with the freedom of speech in this country to a point where people are too concerned about day-to-day conversations.”
The proposal to drop the word “guys” provoked a storm on Twitter, with some people questioning whether it would also lead to the loss of the traditional favourite, “mate”.
But others liked the idea of removing gender-specific language, coming up with alternatives to “guys” including “folks”, “riff raff” and “mortals”.
Australian National University language expert Catherine Travis said attempting to eliminate the term “guys” was trivial.
Dr Travis said she supported the campaign to rid stigmatised words from workplaces but believed the phrase “you guys” had evolved to include all genders and was commonly accepted.
Mr Morrison said: “Guys is a masculine word that has been used as a catch-all for mixed groups of men and women. But at its root it is discriminatory.’’
The retired Lieutenant-General said he was not trying to become the “language police” and expected to be criticised for the idea.
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