Colleges throw out Women's History Month, celebrate 'Womxn' instead

Colleges from California to New York are dropping the word “women” from what have traditionally been Women’s History Month celebrations in an effort to be more gender-inclusive, opting to use “womxn” instead.

John Jay College of Criminal Justice, the University of Missouri-St. Louis, California State University, San Bernardino, Rider University and Westhampton College are among the schools that have the switch.

Rider University in New Jersey justifies the move by arguing that it “respect[s] the dynamic and fluid nature of gender identity and expression and [is] inclusive of all people who identify as women in today’s times.” 

California State University San Bernardino, on the other hand, asserts that it “intentionally spell[s] womxn with an X as an objection to the patriarchal idea that womxn are an extension to men and the inclusion of all womxn go beyond just cis-women.”

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While many progressives are using the term “womxn” as an attempt to make the language we use to describe sex more gender-neutral, other progressives have objected to its usage. Writing for the Washington Examiner, Nicholas Clairmont documented this rift.

“It has been determined by amateur internet lexicographers that ‘womxn’ is not the preferred term any longer,” he explained. “Indeed, not only is ‘womxn’ over now, it is to be avoided and scorned, since it was ‘invented by TERFS [Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminists]’.”

Womxn’s History Month is being observed in a variety of ways at these institutions. 

Rider University will be hosting an event titled “Who Runs the World? Womxn!” on March 8, followed on March 28 by a speech on how individuals can “learn about the need for collective climate action by redefining our own environmental narratives and the intersections between feminism and climate justice.”

At another event later this month, “a distinguished Rider alumna athlete will provide remarks about her/their time at the university and lessons she/they learned that have helped her/them excel in life and her/their career.”

Westhampton College in Virginia, meanwhile, has a Womxn’s History Month event planned for almost every day in March, with some days having multiple events scheduled.

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Highlights include “A Celebration of Bad B*tches & Beer” which “honors all who identify as she/her and those who have made strides toward gender equity in the beer industry,” as well as “Feminist Fairy Tales: Who Needs a Prince?”, a lecture exploring how scholarly investigations have “revolutionized questions of gender and sexuality, opened the door to queer interpretations of classic tales, and rediscovered rich archives of tales with active hero(ines) of all genders.”

Cal State San Bernardino, on the other hand, is opting to delve more into the biology of “womxn.” At an event titled “Seed Cycle Your Way Through,” students are invited to learn about how “menstruating bodies typically experience a cycle every month,” and the mechanisms underlying that cycle.

Every institution mentioned has been contacted for comment; this article will be updated accordingly.