What is the significance of “Womxn”?

The term “womxn” is a term used to describe women in all their forms and being inclusive of all marginalised communities. “Womxn” intends to encompass cisgendered and Trans women, people who identify as women or lean towards that gender identity, women of colour, women with disabilities, etc and broadens the scope of traditional definitions.

“Womxn” is also used to break away from the concept that “man” is the default (as in “Wo-man”) in an effort to break down centuries of patriarchal dominance.

This is not a new concept; the term “wimmin” was introduced as far back as the 1900s, eventually progressing to “womyn” in the 1970s. “Latinx” is now commonly used as a gender neutral alternative to “Latina” or “Latino”.

The term “womxn” was considered to be particularly relevant for the Trans community that are often referred to in language separately to the cis-gendered population. It has occurred to many that the use of the traditional term of “women” may feel exclusive to some. “Womxn” could therefore be used on event invitations, for example, to reaffirm that transwomen are included within the invitation.

New language is not without its controversy. Some refuse to acknowledge Transwomen’s rights to be included within the female population; whilst others argue that “man” should  be changed to ”mxn” instead.

Whilst the intent behind this term may be positive, the impact may be different to that which is desired. Using the term “womxn” could reaffirm the notion that not all groups are included within the term “women” and may be inadvertently “othering” different groups.

Alternative suggestions could be to a) consider whether the event or information could be gender neutral instead, and/or b) include a caveat to reaffirm that all gender identities and expressions are included/invited.

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