Washington: “Ninja,” “Cakewalk,” “No Can Do,” Others on List of Words Banned by University


From the University of Washington’s inclusive language guide

I thought this would be a cakewalk for a ninja, but no can do.

Campus Reform:

The University of Washington Information Technology department claimed in a recently-updated “inclusive language guide” that phrases like “ninja” and “no can do” are “problematic.”

The inclusive language guide, which was updated on May 29, states that “words matter,” adding the guide should be used “to audit the language used on websites, web pages, wikis, online documentation, software and system applications, and documentation about these applications.”

”As an educational institution, it’s imperative that we remain committed to diversity, equity and inclusion, and one place to start is how we communicate to those who visit our websites. This guide shows our commitment to ensuring our organization, and our websites, continually show respect for everyone,” the guide states.

According to the language guide, the word “cakewalk” is problematic because the phrase was a “pre-Civil War dance performed by enslaved people, and the winner of which would be given a cake.”

Other phrases like “lower the bar” are problematic because it is “based on the erroneous idea that a company has to relax hiring standards in order to add people from different racial, ethnic, gender backgrounds,” according to the guide. Alternatives listed are “simplify,” “inclusive,” and “make more accessible.”

”Mantra,” is also listed as a problematic word because “Many people in the Buddhist and Hindu community hold this term ‘mantra’ as highly spiritual and religious experience, and is not to be used with nonchalance.”

This will all be solved when when have computer chips in our brains and we can just communicate to each other with 1s and 0s.

Otherwise, we’re going to remove so many basic terms, that communication is going to become impossible.


The University of Washington is run by Ana Mari Cauce, a fat lesbian psychologist from Cuba