Alternative spellings of woman
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"Womyn" is one of several alternative spellings of the word "women" used by some feminists.[1] There are many alternative spellings, including "womban" and "womon" (singular), and "wimmin" (plural). Writers who use alternative spellings see them as an expression of female independence and a repudiation of traditions that define females by reference to a male norm.[2]
Background
In Old English sources, the word "man" was gender-neutral, with a meaning similar to the modern English usage of "one" as an indefinite pronoun. The words wer and wyf were used to specify a man or woman where necessary, respectively. Combining them into wer-man or wyf-man expressed the concept of "any man" or "any woman".[3][4] Feminist writers have suggested that the less prejudicial usage of the Old English sources reflects more egalitarian notions of gender at the time. [2]
Variants
Womon/womyn
"Womyn" appeared as an Older Scots spelling of "woman"[5] in the Scots poetry of James Hogg. Its usage as a feminist spelling of "women" (with "womon" as the singular form) first appeared in print in 1975 referring to the first Michigan Womyn's Music Festival,[6] an annual art festival that admits only womyn-born womyn.[7][8]
Womon/wimmin
"Wimmin" appeared in 19th century renderings of Black American English, without any feminist significance. Z. Budapest promoted the use of "wimmin" (singular "womon") in the 1970s as part of her Dianic Wicca movement, which claims that present-day patriarchy represents a fall from a matriarchal golden age.[9]
Conflict
"Womyn" is considered a generalizing term and is highly debated by marginalized feminist groups.[10]
See also
Notes
- ^ D. Hatton. "Womyn and the 'L': A Study of the Relationship between Communication Apprehension, Gender, and Bulletin Boards" (abstract), Education Resources Information Center, 1995.
- ^ a b Neeru Tandon (2008) Feminism: A Paradigm Shift
- ^ Spender, Dale. Man-Made Language.
- ^ Miller, Casey, and Kate Swift. The Handbook of Non-Sexist Language.
- ^ DOST: Woman
- ^ "Womyn." Oxford English Dictionary.
- ^ http://eminism.org/michigan/20060822-mwmf.txt
- ^ Bitch: Feminist Response to Pop Culture Issue 17, Summer 2002
- ^ Eugene V. Gallagher, W. Michael Ashcraft (2006) Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America
- ^ Browne, Kath (October 2009). "Womyn's Separatist Spaces: Rethinking Spaces of Difference and Exclusion". Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers. 34 (3).
Further reading
- Sol Steinmetz. "Womyn: The Evidence," American Speech, Vol. 70, No. 4 (Winter, 1995), pp. 429–437