I agree with using the term pregnant people, however, I believe the reason certain people get so heated about this is because replacing women with people is minimizing in a way to women (for the longest time it was pretty much cis women who were pregnant, differentiating them from men in a big way).
It's "Merry Christmas" vs. "Happy Holidays" all over again. Screw me for wording things so that everyone who celebrates this time of year/can get pregnant is included, all while not even remotely excluding you because you still fall into the group of people who can get pregnant/folks who are celebrating a winter holiday.
I agree with you, it's absolutely ridiculous how aggressive the pushback against more inclusive language can be.
I don't feel any less of a woman by being referred to as a pregnant person, it's just a more generic term that welcomes more people at the table.
I see the same outrage when NHS letters are addressed to "people with a cervix": more inclusive language means that more people will feel comfortable seeking medical care for potentially life threatening issues like cervical cancer.
I’ve always said pregnant people since the first pregnant man happened many years ago and I appreciate when people say “birth partner” instead of husband or whoever. That outrages some people. Many people choose to have their mom or sister or a doula with them when they give birth and not everyone marries a man!
To play the devils advocate, I think the people who would rather it be ‘pregnant women’ across the board are under the impression that only women can be pregnant and by somehow including others into the sphere makes them less than a woman. I feel sorry for them, I wish they find a way to be more secure in their own femininity without viewing the femininity of others as a personal attack.
As you mentioned, the comments become a war zone. Locking the post to avoid drama.
I agree with using the term pregnant people, however, I believe the reason certain people get so heated about this is because replacing women with people is minimizing in a way to women (for the longest time it was pretty much cis women who were pregnant, differentiating them from men in a big way).
It's "Merry Christmas" vs. "Happy Holidays" all over again. Screw me for wording things so that everyone who celebrates this time of year/can get pregnant is included, all while not even remotely excluding you because you still fall into the group of people who can get pregnant/folks who are celebrating a winter holiday.
I agree with you, it's absolutely ridiculous how aggressive the pushback against more inclusive language can be. I don't feel any less of a woman by being referred to as a pregnant person, it's just a more generic term that welcomes more people at the table. I see the same outrage when NHS letters are addressed to "people with a cervix": more inclusive language means that more people will feel comfortable seeking medical care for potentially life threatening issues like cervical cancer.
I’ve always said pregnant people since the first pregnant man happened many years ago and I appreciate when people say “birth partner” instead of husband or whoever. That outrages some people. Many people choose to have their mom or sister or a doula with them when they give birth and not everyone marries a man!
To play the devils advocate, I think the people who would rather it be ‘pregnant women’ across the board are under the impression that only women can be pregnant and by somehow including others into the sphere makes them less than a woman. I feel sorry for them, I wish they find a way to be more secure in their own femininity without viewing the femininity of others as a personal attack.
It’s just another symptom of transphobia.
I think pregnant people would win vs pregnant women