The AP Stylebook has let its users know that they now discourage people from using the term TERF “to describe cisgender women or others who object to the inclusion of transgender women in women’s spaces,” and to that we say … nah.
TERF, an abbreviation for Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminist, has been used to describe those who are transphobic, as well as by those who are actually transphobes and wear it like, ironically, a badge of pride.
In their announcement, they wrote, “We recommend avoiding the vague and politicized term to describe cisgender women or others who object to the inclusion of transgender women in women’s spaces.”
They continued in the image which was attached to the tweet, saying that TERF and “gender critical” was a “vague term”.
“Avoid the vague and politicized terms trans-exclusionary radical feminist or its acronym, TERF, and gender-critical to describe cisgender women or others who object to the inclusion of transgender women in women’s spaces.
“Instead, be specific about a person’s or group’s objections, and paraphrase quotations that use the terms unless needed for a compelling reason.”
Unsurprisingly, those of us who frequently find a variety of “compelling reasons” to use the term, either in quotations or directly ourselves, were not impressed with the style guide update and let the AP know it.
This stance is something that seems quite the opposite of what AP has said in the past, as they have mostly been trans-inclusive and have terms and descriptions to avoid when talking about transgender people.
Only the other week, there was an uproar about the term TERF after U.K. poverty charity Oxfam released a video that included a woman with a TERF badge on her lapel who looked suspiciously like known transphobe J.K. Rowling. The cartoon, which was in celebration of Pride Month, has now been removed, re-edited, and re-uploaded.
In a statement, they said that they support trans people to “enjoy their rights and live a life free of discrimination” before then going on to say that they “fully support both an individual’s rights to hold their philosophical beliefs and a person’s right to have their identity respected.”
This again caused upset because how can you respect people who are fighting against the rights of those you also claim to support?
One person wrote, “Imagine tweeting this with a pride flag pfp lmao absolutely shameless,” while another replied, “Cowards, they describe themselves as TERFs, they are actively working to harm trans people and are helping to hide this fact.”
A third, in my opinion, summed it up perfectly by tweeting, “Organizations are going to be mortified in 15 years when they look back at how they acquiesced and supported the rising hate in the 20’s against trans people.”
(featured image: nito100/Getty Images)
