Am I fired, darling? Opera staff warned over language

Employees at a major British opera company have been banned from calling each other 'darling' in a bid to bring the theatre world into line with Government guidelines on sex discrimination.

It is hard to imagine the theatre world without the term darling at the end of every greeting but from now on new members at London's English National Opera (ENO) company will be disciplined if they use the term of endearment.

It is all part of the ENO's new guidelines on sexual harassment, which also ban unwelcome sexual advances, or over-zealous flirtation.

"The use of affectionate names such as 'darling' may constitute sexual harassment," says the document titled "Dignity at Work", which also warned against other "suggestive remarks or lewd conduct" such as unwelcome flirting.

Opera insiders say it will be almost impossible to break the long running tradition at the 100-year-old company and management admit the ban will probably only apply to new members.

Existing staff who call each other darling can continue to do so.

It was a difficult issue, an ENO spokesman said.

"Some people may have used the term darling to each other for years, but there are others who may consider it inappropriate," he said.

"This isn't about banning the word. It's all about the context in which it is used," he said.

"Whilst it may be acceptable between friends, it would be thought of very differently if the term is used by a senior colleague and accompanied by a wink.

"We realise that it would be almost impossible to ban the word darling in theatre-land, but this is about addressing some serious issues."

The use of words such as "darling" and "lovey" have been bandied about in the British arts world for decades, notably in theatres.

But many actors stress that rather than being unnecessarily affected, the use of the words is mainly because in their transient working world, it is virtually impossible to remember everyone's name.

-ABC