Weird Woke Terminology’: Michelle Obama Lands in Trouble After Using 'WOMXN’ on Social Media
© AP Photo / Amy Harris/Invision
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Michelle Obama has weighed in on the outcry over the landmark Roe v Wade decision being potentially overturned. The earlier leaked Supreme Court draft opinion revealed Justices ruled in favour of ditching the 1973 precedent that "protects a pregnant woman's liberty to choose to have an abortion without excessive government restriction.”
Michelle Obama’s Instagram*-shared use of the word “WOMXN” in a post related to the Roe v Wade leak has triggered a fierce online debate.
The term “womxn” in this particular alternative spelling of the English word has been promoted in recent years by some progressives as more inclusive due to the opinion that the word "woman" has “patriarchal roots.” However, critics have slammed the “misogynistic” term as erasing the experience of cisgender women. They have also questioned how “womxn” is pronounced. Cissexual, or shortened to cis, describes a person whose gender identity and sex assigned at birth are the same.
The former First Lady took to social media on Saturday to urge voters to take part in the November midterm primary elections, especially in US states where a potential Supreme Court's overturn of the landmark Roe vs. Wade precedent would likely result in abortion bans.
“State lawmakers will have the power to strip womxn of the right to make decisions about their bodies and their healthcare,” warned one of the slides the Michelle Obama shared.
An earlier published draft Supreme Court ruling had revealed that a majority of the justices had voted to overturn the 1973 ruling in the Roe v. Wade case that allowed abortion throughout the United States without excessive government restrictions.
Another slide seemingly created by non-profit When We All Vote shared on Obama’s Instagram stated:
“It's been a tough couple of weeks since we saw the leaked SCOTUS draft opinion on abortion. If it comes to pass, we may soon live in a country where millions of women — not to mention our children and grandchildren — lose the right to make decisions about their bodies and their health.”
The former First Lady is a co-chair at the nonprofit and recently launched the #VoteLoud HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities ) initiative “to empower HBCU students to take a leading role in voter registration, education, and mobilization efforts on their campuses.”
Besides the slides seeking to promote awareness about the mounting importance of local elections, Obama wrote:
“If we knew the courts were heading toward this day, it doesn't make the frustration, grief, and fear any less real. But we don't have to stand idly by while others try to turn back the clock on progress. I'm so inspired by everyone out marching today. And I know that we're going to see so many folks carrying this energy forward to the elections in November and in every election after that.”
In response to the post, conservative figures called out Obama’s choice to use the slide featuring the controversial term, Fox News reported.
Republican Party pollster and political strategist Patrick Ruffini deplored the use of “ weird woke terminology.”
Democrats, don’t expect the Obamas to save you from weird woke terminology. pic.twitter.com/rgCw1dffod
— Patrick Ruffini (@PatrickRuffini) May 16, 2022
Former Republican National Committee (RNC) spokesman Doug Heye posed a “practical” question of how one should pronounce “womxn.”
Just asking a practical question here, how does one pronounce "womxn?" https://t.co/rSaXWg2CYV
— Doug Heye (@DougHeye) May 16, 2022
*Instagram is banned in Russia because of extremist activities
