I was going to write about Hugh Hefner who at the age of 91 had died, no doubt of myxomatosis, when a far better story broke, kept under wraps by the Australian Defence Force Academy for almost two years: we now have our first 'genderless' army cadet!
The ‘genderless’ officer cadet is biologically female but wishes to be recognised as neither a man nor a woman. Instructional staff have been ordered to use neither the pronoun ‘she’ nor 'he' when referring to the officer cadet. Instead, instructors are to address the officer cadet as ‘Officer Cadet [Last Name]’. What ‘new’ pronoun the physical training instructors will use when yelling at 'it' is not mentioned.
Speaking of which, there are different fitness standards for males and females, with males still required to meet higher physical requirements. How many push-ups is a ‘genderless’ soldier required to do?
The (c)old country's 'Balkenkreuz' used to strike terror into the enemy's heart. I don't think my adopted country's rainbow-coloured guns manned - if that's the right word - by today's army cadets will do quite the same.
