The University of Texas at Austin faced backlash after a diversity, equity, and inclusion glossary of terms, created by the Office of Financial and Administrative Services, was highlighted by conservative education activist Christopher Rufo.
The glossary included the spelling of the word “women” as “wimmin,” so that feminists can avoid the horror of having the word end in “men.” Rufo criticized the university’s promotion of the term and tweeted that he had archived the page, promising to report more on the issue in the coming week.
Four hours later, the university removed the “Language Matters” guide from its website, and it remains to be seen how the institution will respond to the controversy.
The Office of Financial and Administrative Services at the university lists a glossary of terms on a webpage embedded within its “Diversity Commitment,” denoting them all as “language [that] matters.” Among the terms listed are “Wimmin,” “Womyn” and “Womxn,” which the glossary says are all alternatives to the traditional spelling of the word “Women.”
The glossary provides a little more detail when explaining what “Womxn” means, arguing it is an alternative used “to get away from patriarchal language.”
But the preceding explainer describing what “womxn” means does concede that while the term is meant to be inclusive, “it is not always accepted.”
“Some say the word has evolved and is divisive, and ‘women’ is more inclusive in the LGBTQ+ community,” the glossary adds, linking to a women’s health blog that cites a “medieval historian specializing in gender and sexuality” who calls criticism of “womxn’s” usage “a very white thing.”
In addition to its alternatives to the term “women,” the University of Texas — Austin’s glossary of terms also includes some other politically charged verbiage and acronyms such as “TERF,” “AFAB/AMAB” and “FTM.”
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