Are Gender Neutral Language and Products Going Too Far?

Last summer a 23 year old Dutch woman “realized traditional playing cards were racist and sexist.” She decided to create a gender neutral set of playing cards and now she can’t make them fast enough to meet demand.

Two other stories point to shifting guidance around the language that hospital staff should be using in delivery rooms. The Australian National University suggests changing the term “mother” to “gestational” or “birthing parent” and using “non-gestational” or “non-birthing parent” instead of “father.” Health officials in the UK are asking people to stop using the term “breast milk” and instead use more inclusive terms such as “chest milk” or “human milk.” “Chest feeding” is the term that should replace “breastfeeding.”

Are these good first steps to create a more inclusive hospital experience for new and diverse parents, or just empty and overblown symbolism? Clearly that’s a big question, and it is one that has been on my mind.