A More Inclusive Way of Saying “ladies and Gentlemen”
“Ladies and Gentlemen” is a common way to address a group of people, especially in formal social settings. Long considered the standard and polite – if not old-fashioned – way of addressing a group, his day has come and gone. Not everyone identifies as a lady or a gentleman, and fortunately there is an easy way to reach out to the crowd that includes everyone: “Welcome everyone.”
The shift towards a more inclusive language attracted attention this week after European airline EasyJet ordered its employees to start using non-binary language with their customers. The change appears to have been triggered by Andy Fugard, a senior lecturer at Birkbeck University London, who complained to EasyJet on Twitter in August about excessive use of the binary language during flight. According to Fugard’s Twitter profile , they are identified as trans non-binary.
EasyJet may be the last to announce a change in how customers are greeted, but not the first. Air Canada announced a similar shift in October, and back in 2017, Transport for London employees were asked to replace the phrase with gender-neutral greetings.
Those who find change unnecessary, like some of the annoying people who responded to Fugard’s original tweet, can take comfort in the fact that “everyone” is a faster, easier, and more accurate way to reach out to the group.