The subtle changes in nuance

[JellySlice]

20y ago, when I was first pregnant, I liked the expression 'pregnant person'. It seemed to emphasise my personhood, that I was not just a walking womb, that there was more to me than just my pregnancy. It was the opposite of erasure.

20y ago a rainbow implied joy, open-mindedness, inclusion, celebration of diversity. Now it is a political statement of "if you don't agree you can piss off".

Language evolved. But I feel robbed.

Thats the difference between having a choice introduced by a grass roots liberation movement and having your personhood removed by a top down supremacy movement.

‘Gay’ or ‘Gaye’ used to be a perfectly acceptable girls name and ‘blackboard’ used to describe the thing the teacher wrote on with chalk. I used to celebrate being a woman by enjoying when a man held a door open for me and gave up his seat for me, especially when I was pregnant. It even happened a few times when I wasn’t. Politeness isn’t patronising and I wasn’t patronising an older person if I gave them my seat. Good manners are social oil and I am truly tired of the striving for androgyny, or other people deciding what is offensive or not. Hey, you liked being a pregnant person. Bully for you. Being a pregnant woman was one thing my abusive mother couldn’t claim I couldn’t do.