Air Force Academy Defends Telling Cadets to Replace ‘Mom and Dad’ With ‘Gender-Neutral Language’

Air Force Academy Defends Telling Cadets to Replace ‘Mom and Dad’ With ‘Gender-Neutral Language’
Members of the U.S. Air Force Academy Class of 2021 salute during their graduation ceremony at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on May 26, 2021. Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images
Bill Pan
Bill Pan
Reporter
|Updated:
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The U.S. Air Force Academy has defended its teaching cadets to avoid “gender-specific terms” such as “mom” or “dad,” saying that “inclusive language” is important to its mission of training leaders capable of winning wars.

The Colorado Springs-based military school recently met with criticism over a slide that instructs cadets to replace gender-specific terms with gender-neutral ones. For example, “partner” is considered a better alternative to “boyfriend” or “girlfriend.” Terms like “parents,” “caregivers,” and “guardians” are preferable to “mom” or “dad.”

Bill Pan
Bill Pan
Reporter
Bill Pan is an Epoch Times reporter covering education issues and New York news.
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