NYC Transport Replaces ‘Ladies And Gentlemen’ With Gender-Neutral Announcements
New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority is retiring its use of “ladies and gentlemen” in favor of some awesome gender-neutral terminology.
According to local news outlet PIX11, MTA subway conductors and bus drivers will address commuters as “passengers,” “riders” and “everyone.” Pre-recorded messages will be updated to comply with the new policy.
“We’re fundamentally changing the way we talk with riders to give them better and clearer information,” MTA spokesperson Jon Weinstein told PIX11 on Friday.
Some people were unhappy with what they called the “politically correct” move, while others tweeted their support of the new policy.
Thank you for switching to gender neutral language @MTA. Just heard "Good morning everyone" on the downtown 1 train.
— Maren (@marenjmitchell) November 13, 2017
you may not notice when the announcer says “ladies and gentlemen,” you may not notice the million ways society keeps the *separate and unequal* binary gender system in place, all in the name of commerce and habit.
BUT I DO NOTICE
thanks @MTA 💛https://t.co/RnrYRnYJOi— jeffrey💛marsh (@thejeffreymarsh) November 11, 2017
It's a little thing, but I'm enjoying the new gender-neutral announcements on @MTA subway: "Good morning everyone!" instead of "ladies & gentlemen."
— Jill Jacobs (@rabbijilljacobs) November 13, 2017
In July, London transportation made a similar move and eliminated gendered greetings from the London Tube’s announcements. “We want everyone to feel welcome on our transport network,” Mark Evers, director of customer strategy at Transport for London, said about the change.
Now that we’ve covered gender-neutral terminology, maybe we can tackle those MTA delays.
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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.