What is ‘Womxn?’ Why progressives love, and hate, the term – Fox News
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
The term "womxn" has been adopted by some progressives since 2010 to serve as a more inclusive term for woman, but outlets and organizations who have used the term have faced backlash from those who believe it is exclusionary to the trans and non-binary community.
According to dictionary.com, womxn is "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)."
As early as 1975, the term "womyn" appeared in an issue of Lesbian Connection magazine, and was subsequently used by other organizations and publications. According to The University of California, Irvine's Womxns Center for Success, the term was "brought up in intersectional feminist spaces" beginning in 2010, with the Womxns March Seattle picking up the term in 2016.
SCOTUS PROLONGS HIGHLY-ANTICIPATED DECISION THAT COULD OVERTURN ROE V. WADE
LGBTQ rights supporters gather at the Texas State Capitol to protest state Republican-led efforts to pass legislation that would restrict the participation of transgender student athletes on Sept. 20, 2021, in Austin, Texas. (Tamir Kalifa/Getty Images)
A 2019 New York Times article asked "What Do Womxn Want?" proceeding to answer their own question: "Maybe not to have the word man in their word anymore!"
Some progressives have championed the term, using it as a more inclusive version of "woman."
Following a leaked draft Supreme Court opinion revealed that the landmark court case could be overturned, former First Lady Michelle Obama raised eyebrows in an Instagram post writing, "State lawmakers will have the power to strip womxn of the right to make decisions about their bodies and their healthcare."
LONDON MUSEUM SLAMMED AFTER PROMOTING EVENT TO WOMXN
Self-care brand Blume explained "why weve decided to use womxn instead of woman or women, andwhy you should too."
But, other organizations and outlets have faced backlash for using the term, particularly from other progressives who do not believe it is inclusive.
Athena Maxine holds a transgender pride flag during the annual Pride Portland! Parade in Portland, Maine, on June 15, 2019. (Ben McCanna/Portland Portland Press Herald via Getty Images)
Girlboss.com explained that "Womxn Isnt Exactly the Inclusive Term you Think It Is," asserting that "While womxn may be helpful for some communities, its alienating for others-particularly trans and nonbinary people."
HILLARY CLINTON'S FLIP FLOP ON TRANSGENDER ISSUES: FROM HIGHEST PRIORITY TO SHOULD NOT BE A PRIORITY
A now-deleted tweet from Northwest Missouri State University referred to Womens History Month as "Womynx History Month," linking to a website explaining that the school used the term "Womynx" to "encourage inclusivity."
"Wtf is Womynx?? This is what people go into debt to learn?" the popular Twitter account LibsofTikTok tweeted.
Streaming platform Twitch backtracked plans to swap the word "woman" for "womxn" after facing backlash from those who felt the term inferred that trans women were not women.
"Womxn implies trans women arent real women and non-binary people are women, so its best to avoid using it if you want to make a safe space for trans people," an Insider opinion columnist wrote following the Twitch controversy.
A person holds up a flag during rally to protest the Trump administration's reported transgender proposal to narrow the definition of gender to male or female at birth, at City Hall in New York City. (REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo)
Twitch later apologized, writing on Twitter "we want to assure you that we have, and will continue to, work with the LGBTQIA+ community. Were still learning."
While the Insider opinion column noted the term is non-inclusive of trans women, author Canela Lopez said it "doesnt make sense" when referring to non-binary people.
"While some non-binary trans people do self-identify as womxn, saying "womxn" to refer to all non-binary people doesnt make sense," Lopez wrote.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Even the University of California, Irvine's Womxns Center for Success noted a problem on their website explaining the term.
"Most pronounce it like they are saying woman or women, but spell the singular and plural with the x. However, this raises the question if that actually is truly inclusive; members of the blind community may be left out if there is no audible way for them to hear this distinction," the site reads.
Kelsey Koberg is an Editor with Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to kelsey.koberg@fox.com and on Twitter: @KelseyKoberg.
Continued here:
What is 'Womxn?' Why progressives love, and hate, the term - Fox News
- Trump-enabling Democrats lost their elections to progressives in North Carolina last night - LGBTQ Nation - March 7th, 2026 [March 7th, 2026]
- Nida Allam Concedes to Valerie Foushee With Razor-Thin Loss for Progressives in Key Midterm Primary - The Intercept - March 7th, 2026 [March 7th, 2026]
- Progressives Are Getting Bad Advice on Iran - National Review - March 4th, 2026 [March 4th, 2026]
- Connecticut Must Reject Progressives Tax-the-Rich Agenda - Americans for Tax Reform - March 4th, 2026 [March 4th, 2026]
- Progressives threaten primaries over Iran vote - breakingthenews.net - March 4th, 2026 [March 4th, 2026]
- Texas Progressives Say Democratic Establishment Is Blowing It In the Rio Grande Valley - The Intercept - March 2nd, 2026 [March 2nd, 2026]
- Washington state progressives strike big business tax break from 'millionaires tax' - KUOW - March 2nd, 2026 [March 2nd, 2026]
- Labour must stop channelling Reform and unite with progressives. Thats the lesson from Gorton and Denton - The Guardian - March 2nd, 2026 [March 2nd, 2026]
- Progressives bet big on anti-Israel sentiment to oust Valerie Foushee in North Carolina - Washington Examiner - March 2nd, 2026 [March 2nd, 2026]
- Why Is the Democratic Party So Afraid of Progressives? - Zeteo | Substack - March 2nd, 2026 [March 2nd, 2026]
- Conservatives, Progressives, LGBTQ+ People, and Jars of Jam - New Ways Ministry - March 2nd, 2026 [March 2nd, 2026]
- Pandering to progressives on Iran will doom Starmer - The Telegraph - March 2nd, 2026 [March 2nd, 2026]
- Article | Most NYC Council progressives call on Hochul to tax the rich - POLITICO Pro - February 27th, 2026 [February 27th, 2026]
- Matt Walshs real history is a flawed challenge to progressives - UnHerd - February 27th, 2026 [February 27th, 2026]
- Reform's Matt Goodwin said the Gorton and Denton by-election saw a coalition of Islamist and woke progressives. Labour came third in the election,... - February 27th, 2026 [February 27th, 2026]
- How Jesse Jackson set the stage for Bernie Sanders and todays progressives - The Conversation - February 24th, 2026 [February 24th, 2026]
- Pauline Hansons populism is a front. But there are lessons for progressives in One Nations surging popularity - The Guardian - February 24th, 2026 [February 24th, 2026]
- Ten Commandments Ruling Underscores That Progressives Need School Choice - Cato Institute - February 24th, 2026 [February 24th, 2026]
- Frank Floor Talk: The progress of progressives - CDC Gaming - February 24th, 2026 [February 24th, 2026]
- Democrats, progressives stage counterprogram to Trump State of the Union - Scripps News - February 24th, 2026 [February 24th, 2026]
- The subspecies of progressives and how theyre mutually reinforcing - Why Evolution Is True - February 24th, 2026 [February 24th, 2026]
- Lessons from the Maharashtra Civic Polls: Why Progressives Need to Urgently Focus on the Booth - The Wire India - February 24th, 2026 [February 24th, 2026]
- Right-Wing Think Tanks Are Building a New Hegemony Europe's Progressives Must Fight Back - Social Europe - February 24th, 2026 [February 24th, 2026]
- Can Vancouver Progressives Unite to Win the Next Election? - The Tyee - February 24th, 2026 [February 24th, 2026]
- For Thailand's popular progressives, winning the vote is only the first hurdle - BBC - February 7th, 2026 [February 7th, 2026]
- Trying to influence progressives in New Jersey, AIPAC may actually help one get elected - The Forward - February 7th, 2026 [February 7th, 2026]
- Here is a political lesson progressives need to learn, and fast: British pubs are crucial | Simon Jenkins - The Guardian - February 7th, 2026 [February 7th, 2026]
- White progressives criticizing Jasmine Crockett's Senate bid need to 'sit their a-- down,' says liberal host - AOL.com - February 7th, 2026 [February 7th, 2026]
- Abolish ICE is the new defund the police for progressives: Charlie Hurt - Fox News - February 7th, 2026 [February 7th, 2026]
- Roland Martin says White progressives criticizing Jasmine Crockett's Senate bid need to 'sit their a-- down' - Yahoo - February 7th, 2026 [February 7th, 2026]
- Ahead Of DHS Funding Battle, Progressives Demand Congress 'Melt ICE' - HuffPost - February 7th, 2026 [February 7th, 2026]
- Abbreviated Pundit Roundup: Progressives are ascendent as Trump sinks in the muck - Daily Kos - February 7th, 2026 [February 7th, 2026]
- Why a T-shirt in a hit movie is trending with Brazilian progressives: Almost every day they sell out - The Guardian - January 30th, 2026 [January 30th, 2026]
- House Progressives Unveil 'Defund the Oligarchs, Fund the People' Resolution - Common Dreams - January 30th, 2026 [January 30th, 2026]
- Elmhurst Progressives Rally For Man Killed By Ice In Minnesota - Patch - January 26th, 2026 [January 26th, 2026]
- Progressives Advance Radical Measure That Could Outlaw Hunting and Fishing in Oregon - thatoregonlife.com - January 26th, 2026 [January 26th, 2026]
- McKee finally endorsed a millionaires tax. Progressives and business groups arent happy. - rhodeislandcurrent.com - January 24th, 2026 [January 24th, 2026]
- Regressive attitude of the Progressives - The Guardian Nigeria News - January 24th, 2026 [January 24th, 2026]
- Trump Likes Some Populist Ideas. Progressives Are Split on Working With Him. - NOTUS News of the United States - January 24th, 2026 [January 24th, 2026]
- Progressives could use the 'power of the purse' to block ICE funding - Fox News - January 22nd, 2026 [January 22nd, 2026]
- Chris Rabb is trying to be the lefts standard-bearer as he runs for Congress. Will progressives rally around him? - inquirer.com - January 22nd, 2026 [January 22nd, 2026]
- Progressives could use the 'power of the purse' to block ICE funding - Yahoo - January 22nd, 2026 [January 22nd, 2026]
- Trump threats and Bukele model on crime back Latin American progressives into corner - tdtnews.com - January 22nd, 2026 [January 22nd, 2026]
- National Progressives Side With Mamdani in House Race Splitting NYC Left - The Intercept - January 16th, 2026 [January 16th, 2026]
- Decosimo wants school board to regress, progressives and data centers and more rants - Chattanooga Times Free Press - January 16th, 2026 [January 16th, 2026]
- Silence of the Sheep: Why Progressives Are Ignoring the Massacre of Iranians - Jewish Journal - January 16th, 2026 [January 16th, 2026]
- As birthrates tumble, some progressives say the left needs to offer ideas and solutions - NPR - January 14th, 2026 [January 14th, 2026]
- Watch live: House progressives rail against Trump immigration agenda, call for DHS reform - The Hill - January 14th, 2026 [January 14th, 2026]
- How progressives can win the battle of ideas - New Statesman - January 14th, 2026 [January 14th, 2026]
- Congressional progressives vow to block DHS funding without reforms - The Guardian - January 14th, 2026 [January 14th, 2026]
- Newsom breaks with progressives over proposed California billionaire tax - Yahoo - January 14th, 2026 [January 14th, 2026]
- Newsom breaks with progressives over proposed California billionaire tax - Straight Arrow News - January 14th, 2026 [January 14th, 2026]
- House Progressives To Oppose Any New DHS Funding Without Reforms - HuffPost - January 14th, 2026 [January 14th, 2026]
- MCGUIRK: Progressives misdiagnose their X problem - Gript - January 14th, 2026 [January 14th, 2026]
- Auroras new progressives rewrite reality | Michael A. Hancock - Denver Gazette - January 11th, 2026 [January 11th, 2026]
- Op-ed: The 2025 federal budget is charting a new course for progressives - thevarsity.ca - January 11th, 2026 [January 11th, 2026]
- Reporter's Notebook: Progressives eye shutdown leverage to rein in ICE, Venezuela operations - Fox News - January 11th, 2026 [January 11th, 2026]
- Quinn Que: To save liberalism, progressives must apologize and abandon their air of moral certainty - Why Evolution Is True - January 11th, 2026 [January 11th, 2026]
- Chile:Leftists and progressives orgs ready for the Festival - plenglish.com - January 11th, 2026 [January 11th, 2026]
- Left abandons Scandinavian model: why progressives are turning away - valleyvanguardonline.com - January 11th, 2026 [January 11th, 2026]
- Gavin Newsom Slammed by Progressives Over Homophobic Grindr Remark Aimed at MAGA Influencer - Inquisitr News - January 8th, 2026 [January 8th, 2026]
- Double Take -- Giese: Trump has flipped script on progressives - TelegraphHerald.com - January 6th, 2026 [January 6th, 2026]
- Diversion from prison is another way progressives keep getting people killed - New York Post - January 6th, 2026 [January 6th, 2026]
- Wisconsin progressives angry with US raid in Venezuela - The Center Square - January 6th, 2026 [January 6th, 2026]
- For more than half a century, the progressives in SF have been rightand the developers wrong - 48 Hills - December 31st, 2025 [December 31st, 2025]
- Houston progressives knocked Whitmire. Were coming back for more. | Opinion - Houston Chronicle - December 31st, 2025 [December 31st, 2025]
- Progressives Urge Passage of Bills to Stop Trump From Launching 'Forever War' in Venezuela - Common Dreams - December 16th, 2025 [December 16th, 2025]
- Burlington Progressives Aim to Retain, Not Gain, Seats in March - Seven Days Vermont - December 16th, 2025 [December 16th, 2025]
- What Should Progressives Do Once We Have a Solid Majority? - Daily Kos - December 16th, 2025 [December 16th, 2025]
- Progressives Forum marks 10 years of APC governance on January 27 - Peoples Gazette Nigeria - December 16th, 2025 [December 16th, 2025]
- Platner courts progressives as Maine Senate race with Mills and Collins tightens - Washington Examiner - December 16th, 2025 [December 16th, 2025]
- Progressives Forum Marks 10 Years Of APC Governance Jan. 27 - News Agency of Nigeria - December 16th, 2025 [December 16th, 2025]
- Christopher Dummitt: Dec. 11 is the day Canada gained autonomy. Progressives want us to forget - National Post - December 12th, 2025 [December 12th, 2025]
- Progressives launch another primary challenge to a House Democrat - Politico - December 12th, 2025 [December 12th, 2025]
- Georgias off-year elections show momentum and limits for progressives - AJC.com - December 12th, 2025 [December 12th, 2025]
- Is Trump About to Outflank Democrats on Cannabis? Progressives Sound the Alarm - Independent Voter News - December 12th, 2025 [December 12th, 2025]
- Dec. 11 is the day Canada gained autonomy. Progressives want us to forget: Christopher Dummitt in the National Post - The Macdonald-Laurier Institute - December 12th, 2025 [December 12th, 2025]
- Christopher Dummitt: Dec. 11 is the day Canada gained autonomy. Progressives want us to forget - Yahoo News Canada - December 12th, 2025 [December 12th, 2025]
- STATEHOUSE PRESS RELEASE PRESIDENT TINUBU MEETS OSUN APC GOVERNORSHIP ASPIRANTS, HARPS ON PARTY UNITY, CONSENSUS BUILDING President Bola Tinubu has... - December 12th, 2025 [December 12th, 2025]
- Progressives target Angus King and Democrats over votes for Trump-appointed judges - Bangor Daily News - December 5th, 2025 [December 5th, 2025]