Should we stop using the word ‘woman’?

With last years heated debate involving JK Rowling, and this week’s launch of a period product for ‘people who menstruate’, should we stop using the word ‘woman’?

According to the Oxford English Dictionary  the definition of ‘woman’ is ‘An adult female human being.’ This definition is being challenged to ensure that vocabulary reflects the evolution of gender identity and sexuality. The Equality Act 2010, which legally protects people from discrimination in the workplace and in wider society, defines a woman as ‘a female of any age’. We also have the terms natal female and natal male, which refers to the gender assigned at birth. The affirmed gender is an individual’s declared gender identity.

I do not want to discriminate against anyone. I am relieved that we are moving forward with equality for the LGBT community and I have been involved in developing fertility education to ensure the LGBT community understand how they can have children. This includes our fertility education poster, the UK Fertility Education Initiatives animation about modern families, and my lecture for the Science Museums first virtual event: The future of sex.

But should we really stop using the words ‘woman’ and ‘female’ to ensure that we are all inclusive? Suggestions being put forward are: ‘people who menstruate’; ‘people with a uterus’; ‘people with a cervix’; ‘people with a vulva/vagina’. I am not sure how this language is inclusive as there are many women who do not tick these boxes, including transwomen. Do we need to over complicate our language?

People who wish to reassign their birth gender can obtain a Gender Recognition Certificate whereby they can legally change their gender, irrespective of taking hormones or undergoing surgery. This has caused huge debate, mainly around women being concerned that those born a man can use women’s toilets and be sent to a female prison. There have been high profile cases of transwomen who have had major issues from being in a male prison, including the case of Vicky Thompson, who was found dead at Armley jail in Leeds. This is a very complex situation.

I recently reviewed a book on periods and had included the word ‘woman’ in my review and it was pointed out that I was not being inclusive. This week Superdrug released a new period product for ‘people who menstruate’ and the arguments are trending on social media. Superdrug said ”When writing the copy for the products we were aware that there could be customers of this range who are currently transitioning from one sex to another or who identify as Non-Binary but will still be menstruating, alongside the women that use the products.” They said. “We therefore felt ‘person’ was a more inclusive noun to use than “woman”.” But some women feel that they are being undermined. One comment on Twitter said “A person who menstruates. Otherwise known to every normal person as a WOMAN. This is not a dirty word @superdrug If you don’t like women and cannot even mention the word “Woman” then we can choose not to shop with you.”

In 2019 the Scottish Government wanted to ensure that at at least 50% of non-executive roles were filled by women and introduced the Gender Representation on Public Boards Act to “improve the representation of women on the boards of Scottish public authorities”. This sparked a heated debate on how we define a woman. The new bill changed their definition of women to include a “person who has the protected characteristic of gender reassignment”. In this definition the Scottish Government includes those who do not have a Gender Recognition Certificate. The legislation states that “woman” includes those who have “taken the decision to undergo a process for the purpose of becoming female” though this would “not require the person to dress, look or behave in any particular way”. It goes on: “It would be expected there would be evidence that the person was living continuously as a woman – always using female pronouns, using a female name on official documents, describing themselves and being described by others using female language” adding the legislation does “not require an appointing person to ask a candidate to prove whether they meet the definition of woman in the Act”.

I have recently conducted a survey on women’s attitudes to having children and I was asked why I used ‘woman’ in the survey title and why I have not been more inclusive. My answer is that the attitudes of trans people to having children is very important but this is a different survey as the questions to women, men, transmen, transwomen, and non-binery people are not the same.

This week I will be proof reading my book and I am going to try to ensure that my use of the word ‘woman’ is appropriate and inclusive. But I worry that I will fail and end up offending someone.

I would love to hear your views.