Womxn

The term Womxn (/ˈwʊmɪnks/),[1][2] used by some feminists, especially in the intersectional feminist movement, is one of several alternative spellings of the English word woman. It is used to avoid the spelling woman (which contains and derives from the word men), and to foreground transgender, nonbinary, and women of color. Advocacy groups and organizations, including university organizations in the U.S. and U.K., have adopted the term to reflect their values of inclusivity and diverse perspectives. Many have since abandoned the term due to extensive criticism from the trans-community. Primary criticisms include the fact that the term was created by cis-gender feminists on behalf of trans-women, the implication that trans-women and women of colour are not considered women, and the fact that the same intersectional treatment is not given to the word men.[3]

Definition

Dictionary.com, which added womxn and 300 other words to its dictionary in 2019,[4] defines womxn as "a woman (used, especially in intersectional feminism, as an alternative spelling to avoid the suggestion of sexism perceived in the sequences m-a-n and m-e-n, and to be inclusive of trans and nonbinary women)"[1] (although women already includes trans women).[2] The Boston Globe calls the term "a powerful, increasingly popular label, encompassing a broader range of gender identities than 'woman'—or even older feminist terms such as 'womyn' ... a nontraditional spelling for people whose gender identity doesn’t fit in the traditional boxes".[5]

Harvard sociologist Keridwen Luis says that feminists have experimented for decades to devise a suitable alternative for the term identifying the female gender. Such terms have included "wimmin" (in the 1990s), based upon the original Old English term, and "womyn" (since at least 1975).[5][6] The New York Times stated that while womxn was difficult to pronounce, it was "perhaps the most inclusive word yet",[6] using a similar approach to the term "Latinx". The term, which is an attempt to avoid patriarchal language,[2] includes not only cisgender women, but also trans women, non-binary people, and "femme/feminine-identifying genderqueer".[7] Sociologist Nita Harper praised the ambiguity regarding the pronunciation of "womxn", saying that it forces users to "stop and think"[5] and represents the complexity of gender.

Current uses
Womxn's March on Seattle, January 2017
Womxn's March on Seattle, 2018

In 2017, the Womxn's March on Seattle chose to use the term "womxn" to promote the march. Elizabeth Hunter-Keller, the event's communications chair, told The New York Times that they chose it based upon the recommendation of a core organizer, who was a nonbinary person, and to reflect the organizing group's diversity. Hunter-Keller reported that although there were some questions, most supporters encouraged the choice.[6] In January 2018, Portland held the Indigenous Womxn’s March, dedicated to missing and murdered indigenous girls, women, and transgender people.[8]

In October 2019, the Wellcome Collection, a museum and library in London, made an announcement through Twitter using the term in order to demonstrate their goals to include diverse perspectives; hundreds of followers complained and the museum later apologized and removed the term from its website.[6][9] Labour Party politician Jess Phillips responded to the incident by saying, "I've never met a trans woman who was offended by the word woman being used, so I'm not sure why this keeps happening".[2] Clara Bradbury-Rance from King's College London conjectured that the push-back was because the use of the term was seen as too simplistic and a "fix-all".[2]

In 2019, the following campus groups in the U.S. had adopted use of the term "womxn":

As of 2018, the following campus groups in the U.K. had adopted use of the term "womxn":[9]

See also

References
  1. "Definition of womxn". Dictionary.com. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
  2. Regan, Alex (10 October 2018). "Should women be spelt womxn?". BBC News. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  3. Regan, Alex (2018-10-10). "Should women be spelt womxn?". BBC News. Retrieved 2020-08-03.
  4. Spector, Nicole (8 April 2019). "'Male gaze', 'imposter syndrome' and 'womxn' among Dictionary.com's new words of 2019". NBC News. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  5. Peters, Mark (9 May 2017). "Womyn, wimmin, and other folx". Boston Globe. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
  6. Kerr, Breena (14 March 2019). "What Do Womxn Want?". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
  7. Paradis, Crystal (2 January 2018). "A note on inclusive language: intersectionality, feminism, womxn, cis, nonbinary, etc". Feminist Oasis. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
  8. Buck, Kate (11 October 2018). "Why are people getting so angry at changing the spelling of 'woman' to 'womxn'?". Metro.uk. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  9. Guy, Jack (27 November 2018). "Women or 'womxn'? Students adopt inclusive language". CNN. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  10. "Womxn of Colour Network". Women's Resource & Action Center. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  11. "Undergraduate Womxn in Economics Society". Department of Economics UC Davis. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  12. "Welcome to the (W) Initiative!". UNC at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  13. "Womxn of Color". University of Texas Office of Student Diversity and Inclusion. 11 March 2020. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  14. "Connecting Womxn of Color Conference". University of Richmond. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  15. "Womxn of Color Initiative". UC Berkeley Graduate Assembly. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
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