‘Woke Distraction’: Royal Navy Bans Terms Like ‘Manpower’, ‘Unmanned’ Because Sexism

Members of the ship's company raise the White Ensign on the stern of the Royal Navy aircra
ANDREW MATTHEWS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Kurt Zindulka

The UK’s Royal Navy has further succumbed to politically correct woke culture, reportedly banning the terms “unmanned” and “manpower” over concerns that using the phrases is “sexist”.

The professional head of the Naval Service, First Sea Lord Tony Radakin, reportedly ordered the banning of the phrases to create a more inclusive environment for female recruits to the Navy.

“The vast majority of people in the Navy accept that some terms are problematic or no longer appropriate. Leadership are keen to ensure that, where practicable, gendered terms aren’t used,” a Royal Navy source told The Sun.

The Canadian Royal Navy has announced that it will be looking for a replacement word for the rank of ‘seaman’ in favour of a term that is not gender-specific, as well as avoiding the double entendre.

Britain’s Royal Navy is also considering a change to the name as well, but as the source noted: “The problem is that sea-person sounds a bit rubbish. There’s a lot of history attached to the seaman rank, and we know there will be resistance.”

The politically correct pressure to change the language of the Royal Navy has drawn some pushback, with one senior officer telling the paper: “This is a pathetic, woke distraction from keeping Britain safe. The only reason to change the labels is if it is a barrier to recruiting women, but recruitment has never been stronger.”

Meanwhile, the Royal Navy is planning to send the largest British warship ever built, the HMS Queen Elizabeth, to the South China Sea where it will conduct war game exercises with allies.

The planned deployment, which is expected to be launched next year, marks a significant rise in tensions with the Chinese Communist Party.

In an interview with The Times, the Chinese ambassador to the UK, Liu Xiaoming, warned that Britain should not “gang up with the United States on the Chinese”.

Ambassador Liu said the planned deployment demonstrates the growing strain between China and post-Brexit Britain, saying: “After Brexit, I think the UK still wants to play an important role in the world. That is not the way to play an important role.”

Follow Kurt on Twitter at @KurtZindulka

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