Balanced News: Don’t say mother or father as it could offend, Oxfam guidebook tells staff

Oxfam has published a guidebook advising staff not to use the terms mother and father, claiming they could offend transgender parents. The 92-page document features chapters on a number of topics, including gender justice, sexual diversity, and women’s rights. The guidebook also features a trigger warning for words and phrases that could be considered discriminatory or oppressive. Some of the words and phrases Oxfam has discouraged staff from using include sex worker, social norms, social beliefs, and collective beliefs. Staff are instead urged to use the terms pregnant women or people who become pregnant, and migration as a complex phenomenon. The guidebook has been met with criticism from some who feel it seeks to impose gender ideology on both staff and the people Oxfam works with.