It isn’t ‘Prime Minister Sunak’ either (unless you’re American and wrong anyway), it’s ‘Mr Sunak, the Prime Minister’.
The woke hunt wasn’t an issue back then.
It’s all an interesting example of how language evolves. ‘man’ in old english used to just mean person. Wo Man meant female person and Wer man meant male person. (as is now found in werewolf)
But languages evolve and change. What ours needs to do now is invent some easier to pronounce gender neutral words. Like a new ‘they’ so one can mean third person singular and one third person plural because having they used for both causes confusion.
Also, a proper gender neutral alternative to Sir/Ma’am and Mr and Mrs.
Hence why most laws are only written in the masculine tense (when did that change 2000 and something?).
That’s still the law, i can’t think of any change that means drafting has to be gender neutral: (Interpretation Act 1978)
Section 6: Gender and number
In any Act, unless the contrary intention appears,—
(a)words importing the masculine gender include the feminine;
(b)words importing the feminine gender include the masculine;
(c)words in the singular include the plural and words in the plural include the singular.
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No legislation requires it, but when I was drafting SIs and dealing with Parliamentary Counsel on primary legislation there was a clear policy of gender neutral drafting.
On the gender neutral term for Sir/Ma’am we struggle at work for that. Lower judges are no longer sir/ma’am but Judge. However, lay members on a tribunal panel are still sir/ma’am as we haven’t got anything better yet.
Shows how long since I had to give evidence.
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Careful, Chief…
That C grade will be asking for a sir/ma’am…
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They just need a better title, like you could just call Magistrates by their title, but member doesn’t really work in the same way… (I actually explain to clients/witnesses what lay members are by saying they’re like Employment Magistrates.)
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Back on topic,
Where did this survey come from and who do it go to?
What’s the replacement word for marksmanship then? I’m struggling beyond “Shooting Good” or “gitGud lessons”
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better fix that then! personopause and personstruation. has a certain ring to it.
I doubt we will just be throwing person in the middle of words (if this survey and move actually exists). A lot of these words do predate the usage of man to mean just Male rather than person so a different etymological route would likely be needed. The Sir/Ma’am replacement problem is one I have seen many times in Sci-Fi stories with various fixes to varying effects (Sir becomes Gender Neutral, Ser is used as a default and gender neutral version and just going on ranks and last names). If one is needed that much the Military will likely adopt something and we will follow. Marksmanship may become Proficiencies at Arms or something in the future but it is all moot point as we evidentially haven’t been asked yet.
However before this goes further I would suggest we wait until someone can verify that this actually exists and isn’t something the meme pages have put too much time into fabricating to stir up controversy and waste peoples time. If we have yet to have a single person verify this in 13 hours yet the meme page has it I seriously question it’s validity.
At the end of the day most of these apparent issue words are just the most common variant of the word of phrase and others can probably be found if necessary, and how to address people will come down to each person personal preference anyway.
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All this messing around with language is a huge step backwards for mankind……doh!
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Interesting.
I know of a Regular Sqn Ldr who retired service and becane a CI, he was consistently referred to as Sqn Ldr Bloggs despite his CI role.
Perhaps this was out of respect?
I’ve known LAC Service Instructors referred in this way.
Except CI is an appointment not a title.
Its Flt Lt Bloggs, not Commanding Officer Bloggs.
Shooting principles?
Target principles?
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Sharpshooting is the best I’ve found.
Allows for both “principles of sharpshooting” and to be a “sharpshooter”.
Job done.
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Looking (very quickly) at the presentation on Training Hub, the current “Airmanship” syllabus appears to be a hodgepodge of Air Law, Operations, Communications and Radio Navigation.
(From a PPL theory viewpoint)
I’d say the topics need to be separated - some aspects could be merged into Flying Ops.
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This is a real survey and concerns the wording change in FTPs, although I imagine it would bleed over into the syllabus subject too.
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They will have to rename the ‘cockpit’ … 
Taking it back a step… this went to 2FTS who actually use airmanship as a subject area in the way it’s defined by the CAA rather than the way the RAFAC.
It’s being looked at because Airmanship for 2FTS is different to flying operations and the majority of other aviation subjects the cadets study day to day.
Just saying this out loud, I have heard 2 CI’s saying don’t call me Sir and Maaa’aaam. Call me by my first name. I followed suit years ago. And as much as the other volunteers in uniform frown on hearing a Cadet call me by my first name, it’s how I want to be addressed. If they don’t like that then…that’s a them problem. My cadets still treat me with the respect etc that they would any other CI but I can’t stand being called Sir.
CI DontCallMeSir, (obviously not my surname if you were wondering, No was wondering were they) but I much prefer my nickname although all Cadets call me by my first name.
My OC had no choice, it’s how I want to be identified. They can’t tell you how you are to be addressed. Does a volunteer (CO) really want to pick holes like this? Even a few officers in my wing that see me all the time address me as ‘Godfrey’ in front of cadets cos that’s how I want to be addressed.
It’s not like the old days, I used to get a crack around the back of the head for messing about so much. That’s changed. With time, things change. Not everyone will agree but they will still change regardless if they like it or not. Just crack on with your word changes and let’s focus on the real issues of this organisation.