Colleges across the country are replacing the word “women” with “womxn” in celebrations of what was historically known as Women’s History Month.
Schools that now use the word “womxn” include California State University, San Bernardino, the University of Missouri-St. Louis, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Rider University and Westhampton College.
Rider University in New Jersey touts the move as “respecting the dynamic and fluid nature of gender identity and expression and [is] inclusive of all people who identify as women in today’s times.”
California State University San Bernardino says it “intentionally spell[s] womxn with an X as an objection to the patriarchal idea that womxn are an extension to men and the inclusion of all womxn go beyond just cis-women.”
While many on the left use the term “womxn” to protest gender-based terminology, others on the left have objected to its usage. In the Washington Examiner, Nicholas Clairmont described the split of opinion: “It has been determined by amateur internet lexicographers that ‘womxn’ is not the preferred term any longer. Indeed, not only is ‘womxn’ over now, it is to be avoided and scorned, since it was ‘invented by TERFS [Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminists]’.”
Womxn’s History Month is being observed in manifold ways in America’s colleges and universities.
Rider University held an event titled “Who Runs the World? Womxn!” on March 8. On March 28, there will be a speech on how students can “learn about the need for collective climate action by redefining our own environmental narratives and the intersections between feminism and climate justice.”
Virginia’s Westhampton College has an event planned for almost every day this month for Womxn’s History Month. Events include a “Celebration of Bad B*tches & Beer” which “honors all who identify as she/her and those who have made strides toward gender equity in the beer industry.” It also includes “Feminist Fairy Tales: Who Needs a Prince?,” about how women’s studies researchhas “revolutionized questions of gender and sexuality, opened the door to queer interpretations of classic tales, and rediscovered rich archives of tales with active hero(ines) of all genders.”
Cal State San Bernardino is focusing more on the biology of “womxn.” At an event titled “Seed Cycle Your Way Through,” individuals are told to learn about how “menstruating bodies typically experience a cycle every month,” and what undergirds that cycle.
