Editing Alternative spellings of woman (section)

== Controversy ==

The terms ''womyn'' and ''womxn'' have been criticized for being unnecessary or confusing [[neologism]]s, due to the uncommonness of ''mxn'' to describe [[men]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Topping |first1=Alexandra |title=Wellcome Collection excoriated over use of term 'womxn.' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2018/oct/10/wellcome-collection-excoriated-over-term-womxn-promotional-material |accessdate=23 October 2020 |work=The Guardian |date=10 October 2018 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Wharton |first1=Jane |title=Students replace word women with womxn because term 'men' is offensive |url=https://metro.co.uk/2018/11/27/students-replace-word-women-with-womxn-because-term-men-is-offensive-8181017/ |accessdate=23 October 2020 |work=Metro |date=27 November 2018 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Marvuso">J. M. J. Marvuso et al, "Overcoming Essentialism in Community Psychology", in Floretta Boonzaier, Taryn van Niekerk (eds.), ''Decolonial Feminist Community Psychology'' (2019, Springer, {{ISBN|9783030200015}}), page 12</ref>

The word ''womyn'' has been criticized by [[Transgender rights movement|transgender people]]<ref name="advocate1"/><ref>{{cite web|title=What They Call "Womyn-Only" Space is Really Cisgender-Only Space|url=http://transadvocate.com/what-they-call-womyn-only-space-is-really-cisgender-only-space_n_6289.htm|publisher=The TransAdvocate|date=May 21, 2012}}</ref> due to its usage in trans-exclusionary [[Feminist views on transgender topics#Feminist exclusion of trans women|radical feminist]] circles which exclude [[trans women]] from identifying into the category of "woman", particularly the term ''[[womyn-born womyn]]''.<ref name="advocate1"/><ref>{{cite magazine|last=Vasquez|first=Tina|title=It's Time to End the Long History of Feminism Failing Transgender Women|url=https://www.bitchmedia.org/article/its-time-end-long-history-feminism-failing-transgender-women|magazine=[[Bitch (magazine)|Bitch]]|date=March 20, 2016}}</ref>  The term ''wombyn'' was also particularly criticized by trans advocates since it implies that a woman must have a womb to be a woman.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Merbruja |first1=Luna |title=3 Common Feminist Phrases That (Unintentionally) Marginalize Trans Women |url=https://everydayfeminism.com/2015/05/feminist-phrases-marginalize-trans-women/ |website=Everyday Feminism |date=2015-05-12}}</ref>

Some trans-inclusionary feminists argue in favor of the word ''womxn'' as being more inclusive of [[transgender women]], [[non-binary]] people, and [[intersex women]],<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/14/style/womxn.html|title=What Do Womxn Want?|last=Kerr|first=Breena|date=2019-03-14|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-06-20|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name="Marvuso"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.the-standard.org/news/woman-womyn-womxn-students-learn-about-intersectionality-in-womanhood/article_c6644a10-1351-11e7-914d-3f1208464c1e.html|title=Woman, womyn, womxn: Students learn about intersectionality in womanhood|author=Asia Key|website=The Standard|date=27 March 2017 |language=en|access-date=2019-01-31}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2017/05/09/womyn-wimmin-and-other-folx/vjhPn82ITGgCCbE12iNn1N/story.html|title=Womyn, wimmin, and other folx - The Boston Globe|website=BostonGlobe.com|access-date=2019-01-31|archive-date=2019-01-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190125093547/https://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2017/05/09/womyn-wimmin-and-other-folx/vjhPn82ITGgCCbE12iNn1N/story.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> while other trans-inclusionary feminists criticize the term ''womxn'' for the implication that trans women are not ''women'' but are a separate category, or for the implication that non-binary people are women.<ref name="BBCTwitch"/><ref name="KelleherPN"/><ref>{{Cite web |last=López |first=Quispe |title=Stop using the phrase 'womxn' to be trans-inclusive. It can be offensive to trans women and non-binary people. |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/using-the-phrase-womxn-doesnt-mean-youre-trans-inclusive-2021-3 |access-date=2024-11-22 |website=Business Insider |language=en-US}}</ref>  Jennie Kermode, chair of [[Trans Media Watch]], stated in 2018 that the organization would not use the term ''womxn'', considering that ''women'' already includes trans women.<ref name="alexregan">{{Cite news|last=Regan|first=Alex|date=2018-10-10|title=Should women be spelt womxn?|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-45810709|access-date=2020-08-03}}</ref>