'Pregnant people'

I'm in two minds about this issue actually.

I agree that "pregnant people," "people who menstruate" etc. are annoying, particularly in official communications. Even worse are the convolutions such as "people with a uterus," used in adverts for cervical smears. It can also be confusing when you get statements like, "10% of people will suffer endometriosis" - do they mean 10% of women? 10% of all people (so around 20% of women)?

On the other hand, I have long used occasional phrases like "pregnant people" myself - not to be inclusive, and long before trans ideology. I suppose I do it because for me, women are the default, so "people" can sometimes mean "women", and "pregnant people" is an extension of that. Maybe it's because I went to a girls' school, or because I'm a feminist and I usually centre women. I don't know.

To me, this is where inclusivity tips into exclusion. In trying to be sensitive to the needs of trans-identifying women - a minority group women might be more empathetic and sensitive to - they exclude the majority group. Unfortunately, the answer is usually for the minority group to just put up with it (the Welsh, Scottish and Irish are often lumped in with the English).

I wonder why the minority group have so much power in this situation!

it sort of chimes with biggus dickus from life of brian.

awful

Imagine taking a uniquely 'woman' experience and removing the term be used for that group of humans. The argument that 'well women are people' misses the point. Of course women are people, but using those terms literally strips women of the language used to discuss their own unique experiences. It's part of the erasure of women as a sex class.

.

This “one type of person” has a name which seems to be problematic for some strange reason.

Yes, ‘if you are pregnant’ is fine. Neutral so includes women with special identities, and doesn’t erase women.

But actually if they just put ‘pregnant women’ it would really be fine. The pregnant female humans who are under 18 or under 16, would likely recognise that the word ‘woman’ includes them in that context, especially if they (hopefully) have an adult in their life helping them to navigate the messaging they need to read in their pregnancy.

Female covers that - or 'if you are pregnant'.

There's only one type of person who can get pregnant.

my first thought is that it’s an umbrella term for girls/women/ladies

Can’t remember the last time I saw a pregnant man. Oh, wait…

Is it? Because, as a pp has said, you don't need people/person/woman/man - pregnant is a female term by definition whatever the individual might identify as.

You might need to clarify the species, but that's been pretty clear in any context I've seen "pregnant people" used.

Lots of things like this pass themselves off as "inclusive" but are actually less clear, less accessible to speakers of other languages or those with learning disabilities.

No impact assessments are carried out, no one asks the groups affected. Not really inclusive at all.

Also why would they want to do such a womanly thing (pregnancy and birth) if they think they are a man? None of it makes sense!!

It's illogical and annoying, but I have to confess it has a laughable aspect to it. Just thinking about a trans man or a non-binary (whatever the hell that is) in labour and giving birth. I wonder if, as the baby travels down through their cervix and vagina, these numpties actually give their heads a wobble and think "you know what, maybe I am a woman..." How can you do the most womanly thing of all and maintain your delusion. What were WHO doing when they decided trans was not a mental health issue?

Only WOMEN can become pregnant and NO woman “identifies” as a woman. We just know we are a woman!!

I agree - but the nonsense can be avoided by using I/we/you as standard, which in turn helps to improve health literacy and breaks down the patient/clinician barriers. I use this in my work and have great delight in rejecting ridiculous wording like pregnant people by taking this approach. I hope that one day common sense will return, but in the meantime, I/we/you removes the ability of anyone to write pregnant people.

Anyone remember womb carrier?
Hit social media asome time ago, I think it might have come from something in South America.
Utterly bonkers, as if we cart them about in our shoulder bags.
Gillian Philip, a writer who was cancelled and retrained as a lorry driver, had womb haulier in her twitter name for a good while, sometimes taking the piss helps...🙄

Isn't it because trans men can biologically become pregnant so there could be a ftm trans person who identifies as male but is pregnant. Also non binary or gender fluid individuals could be pregnant and again may not identify as women but just a person.

So therefore it is inclusive of all people who could be pregnant rather than just those who identify as women.

Oh yeah, I found nothing worse during my pregnancy than being referred to as a person. Awful!!!!

So glad there are feminists fighting this important fight.

This all day long.
When medics can't even use the correct language for women, you know that misogyny and hatred of women dominates their thinking.

Enraging and depressing in equal measure

It is awful. There was a lot of "pregnant people" in the discussions of the impact of the Dobbs (overturned Roe) decision in the US and it drove me nuts - pretending this decision actually impacted the health of "people" when in fact it only impacted the health of women. I wrote to a few NPR/PBS programmes about it and complained. Anyone who has media training uses it - that and "pregnant folks" which is even more enraging.

In fairness even my TWAW young adult daughters (we don't talk about it anymore - hoping they will find their way to sanity) were enraged by it.

I agree. I HATE it. DH's niece said there will be alcohol free booze at her wedding, as 3 'pregnant people' are coming, and it really jarred me. I said 'women! Pregnant women!' She just looked at me like >>>

Awful phrase. I will be glad when all this ludicrous nonsense comes to an end!

I haven’t come across “unmothering.” It sounds awful. Only women can become mothers.

@dinodart you're absolutely right, words are powerful, they have meaning, and no one should have the right to appropriate words simply because they WANT them. Toddlers want whatever they want, and want it now, but we teach them that this is not how society, and adults, operate. You don't always get what you want.

In the human species, only the female sex can become pregnant. The words in English for the pregnant female sex are "woman " and, occasionally, "girl" NOT "person" or "people." This dilution and misappropriation of the English language has to stop.

It's coming from pure misogyny. If anyone was trying to erase "man" or "men" from the English language, you can bet that they would be

a. laughed at
b. ignored
c. pilloried on social media
or simply

d. non-existent, because it would never happen.

Perhaps read this quickly, if you care to, because yes, the most innocuous of statements seem to disappear rapidly in August.