Faithwire
  • Watch
  • Go!
  • Podcasts
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • News
  • Politics
  • Coronavirus Updates
  • Faith
  • Opinion
  • Christmas
  • Set Free Course

TED Talks Says ‘Womxn’ Instead of ‘Women’ Because It’s ‘More Inclusive and Progressive’

Photo by Ilyass SEDDOUG/Unsplash
Photo by Ilyass SEDDOUG/Unsplash
Share Tweet
By Tré Goins-Phillips
Editor

September 8, 2020

One branch of the TED Talks initiative has decided it’s best to change the spellings of “women” and “woman” because they exclude non-“cisgendered” people.

Instead, the improved spelling is “womxn.”

HELLO YOU!

TEDxLondonWomxn is coming back (virtually)! 💥

And we'd love you to share your ideas to help us to build our programme of events for this Autumn…

Please share your thoughts in our 5 min quiz https://t.co/lOt7CXXC7x
THANK YOU!
❌ #TEDxLondon #TEDxLondonWomxn pic.twitter.com/6yeIOco3KD

— TEDxLondon (@tedxlondon) September 4, 2020

Some social media users thought the “x” was just a typo. TEDxLondon, however, was quick to disabuse its followers of that notion.

“No, that’s not a typo,” read a response from TEDxLondon. “‘Womxn’ is a spelling of ‘women’ that’s more inclusive and progressive. The term sheds light on the prejudice, discrimination, and institutional barriers womxn have faced, and explicitly includes non-cisgender women.”

Other Twitter users were quick to blast TEDxLondon for attempting to erase “women” from the English lexicon.

“You’re basically saying women can’t have anything just for them,” wrote Victoria Smith. “That’s not inclusion, it’s the entire history of patriarchy.”

Another very logical person responded: “Words are by their very nature exclusive because they describe something. Cow excludes horse, cat excludes dog, woman excludes man. By redefining woman to be ‘inclusive’ of men, you’re rendered the term completely useless as it no longer defines half the human species.”

“It’s telling that they don’t redefine ‘men’ as ‘mxn’ to be inclusive towards trans men,” added one commenter. “This is simply erasure.”

Perhaps the best response, though, was this: “Y’all need to stop.”

Dictionary.com recognizes “womxn” as a word, defining it as a spelling of “woman” used “especially in intersectional feminism, as an alternative spelling to avoid the suggestion of sexism perceived in the sequence m-a-n and m-e-n, and to be inclusive of trans and nonbinary women.” It’s worth noting the Merriam-Webster Dictionary does not recognize it as a word.

Latest

  • culture

    ‘I Will … Dismantle Them’: Critical Race Theory Critic Ready to Debate at New York Times

  • Opinion

    Worried About the Future of America? Here’s a Pathway Forward

  • Opinion

    CPAC Facing Old Testament Criticism Over Bizarre Statue

  • Faith

    In Jesus’ Name We Pray’: New York Woman Loses Job, Leads Pantry Feeding Thousands

  • Faith

    House Steamrolls Religious Liberty, Votes to Pass LGBTQ Bill


Sponsored Sidebar Default (2)

Navigation

  • Watch
  • Go!
  • Podcasts
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • Staff
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram

Subscribe to the Newsletter

Sign up to get our newsletter your inbox every day.

Newsletter Signup

Do you want to read
more articles like this?


Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement