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Dear John,
Our movement for gender justice means driving change in the courts, in public policy, and in our culture—which includes how we talk about our issues and who they affect—especially for women of color, LGBTQ+ people, and low-income women and families. People of all genders should make their own decisions about their bodies and their futures—and our language must reflect that.
The National Women’s Law Center has been advocating for gender justice for 50 years now. While our mission has stayed the same, the language we use has evolved. Affirming our commitment to inclusivity starts with each of us reevaluating the language we use to talk about gender justice. Here are some ways we’ve made our language more inclusive:
- Not only women become pregnant and get abortions: Even if women make up the majority of those that experience pregnancy and obtain abortions, by not acknowledging that some transgender men and nonbinary people can get pregnant, we are excluding them from the narrative entirely. This furthers the discrimination they may face if they do get pregnant or seek an abortion.
- Erasure from language has consequences: The same politicians who worked to take away the right to abortion are also actively working to harm trans, nonbinary, and intersex youth—from banning gender-affirming health care to denying their rights to play sports. When we don’t include transgender and intersex people in our language, we are adding to the attempted erasure these politicians and anti-LGBTQI+ groups are seeking.
- Changing this language does not diminish women and mothers and the issues they face: We can still talk about pregnancy and abortions as issues that are closely tied to womanhood, while also recognizing them as experiences some transgender men and non-binary people have. Just like acknowledging that men can get breast cancer, our goal is to expand the conversation and destigmatize health care, not devalue a woman’s personal experience.
We're always learning, and being a good advocate for gender justice means fighting for every person affected by gender discrimination. We can't do that without including all people in our language.
In solidarity,
National Women's Law Center
P.S. Check out this video of Professor Khiara Bridges demonstrating exactly why we need inclusive language while being questioned by Senator Hawley!
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