Leaving the chicken coop open

Newsweek reports on Professor People Capable of Pregnancy and her smug exchanges with Josh Hawley:

A University of California, Berkeley, law professor slammed GOP Senator Josh Hawley as “transphobic” during a Senate hearing Tuesday on abortion policy.

During the hearing, professor Khiara Bridges used the phrase “people with a capacity for pregnancy,” which is considered a gender-neutral term that encompasses everyone who is able to get pregnant, including transgender men and nonbinary individuals.

No it isn’t. People like Khiara Bridges may consider it that, or may pretend to, but it isn’t just generally or widely or universally “considered” that, not least because it’s bullshit. Women are the only people who are able to get pregnant; that includes women who call themselves men or nonbinary…or for that matter giraffes or apples or 1947 Cadillac sedans.

The debate over gender-inclusive terminology has become heated in recent weeks after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. WadeAs supporters of LGBTQ rights push for more inclusive language surrounding pregnancy, others have argued that terms such as “people with a capacity for pregnancy” slight women. In any case, there have been many instances of transgender men or nonbinary individuals—none of whom are women—becoming pregnant.

This is Newsweek talking. “None of whom are women.” Yes they are. If they get pregnant, they’re women. Semi-respectable news magazines saying otherwise doesn’t change that. It’s grotesque to see news outlets telling stupid teenagery lies like this.

She added, “I want to recognize that your line of questioning is transphobic, and it opens up trans people to violence by not recognizing that.”

It opens women up to violence to call us transphobic and terfs and the rest of the approved vocabulary, too. Professor Smug should pay some attention to that.

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