'Masculine of Center,' 'Transmisogynoir' among terms in college’s LGBT terminology guide

Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania maintains and regularly updates a webpage cataloging LGBTQ+ terminology recognized by the institution. “BIQTPOC,” “Masculine of Center,” and “Transmisogynoir” are among the phrases listed by the college.

“Transmisogynoir” refers to “cultural and interpersonal systems of oppression affecting and against Black, transgender women,” according to Swarthmore, whereas “Masculine of Center” is a “gender identity label for a queer person, typically assigned female at birth but not always, who presents masculinely; most often utilized by queer women of Color.”

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“BIQTPOC,” which Swarthmore says should be pronounced as “bye cutie pock,” serves as an acronym for “Black and Indigenous Queer and Transgender People of Color.” The acronym is itself a modification of “QTPOC,” which, per Swarthmore’s guide, simply stands for “Queer and Transgender People of Color.”

Even some left-leaning academics have taken issue with constantly evolving progressive language. Writing for the Virginia Law Review in 2021, for example, law professor Meera Deo criticized the advent of the phrase “BIPOC.”

“BIPOC begins with the premise that we should always center two particular racial groups—Black and Indigenous—within the people of color category,” she wrote, “though these communities are not always at the center of the issue being discussed.” She went on to describe the acronym as a form of “virtue signaling” used by elites.

Swarthmore also lists “Boi” and “Stud/AG/Aggressive” as terms used primarily by gay and other sexual minorities. The former is defined by the college as referring to a “sexual orientation and gender label used within queer communities of Color among people assigned female at birth; often refers to queer women who present with masculinity.”

The college also provides terms for intersex people who were raised as boys or girls, “Coercively Assigned Female at Birth” and “Coercively Assigned Male at Birth.”

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Swarthmore’s definition of “Woman” differs from its definition of “Female.” 

The college defines a woman as a “gender identity label for someone who associates their understanding of self with femininity; includes cisgender and transgender women.” Female, meanwhile, is defined as a “biological sex label for someone who has some or all of the traits typically associated with the female sex related to chromosomes, hormones, secondary sex characteristics, and genitals.”

Other terms in the school’s glossary include “Pangender,” someone who identifies as all genders, “Allosexual,” intended to refer to anyone who feels sexual attraction, and “Enby,” which is shorthand for “non-binary.” 

The list is maintained by Tiffany Thompson, Swarthmore’s Associate Dean of Inclusive Excellence. 

All relevant parties were contacted by Campus Reform; this article will be updated accordingly.