Don’t use the word ‘homosexual’, Home Office civil servants told

Civil servants at the Home Office were told not to use the word “homosexual” as part of a presentation on gendered language. Members of the department’s Homeland Security

Group, which leads work on Britain’s counter-terrorism response, attended a talk last week focused on “the right language” around LGBT issues. On Monday, the Home Office

moved to distance itself from its contents, which it said did not represent “departmental or government guidance”. Across 12 slides on gender issues, first reported by Guido

Fawkes, Whitehall staff were told: “Be aware a person’s sex, gender identity, and gender expression may not correspond. “Genderqueer is a blanket term for those who don’t

define their gender in binary terms … It is not a modern invention. Each identity is valid and deserves respect.” A slide on language to avoid using included the terms

homosexual and homosexuality, which it said is “generally considered a medical term now. People tend to use gay instead. Can reduce the person to purely sexual terms”. It also

warned against the use of the word transsexual. The presentation urged civil servants to wear rainbow lanyards, include their personal pronouns in email signatures and join

the LGBT Civil Service staff network. They were also shown an extract from an email which read “sorry for calling you mate”, which appears to have been included to dissuade

others from using such language. It comes as The Telegraph can reveal the Home Office’s LGBT network held five events during working hours in as many months last

year.