By Sherman Frederick/Properly Subversive
I am an old dog often resistant to new tricks. I admit this freely.
Sherman Frederick
So, can I say with all the best intentions that I am mystified by how woke language sticklers say the term “pregnant woman” requires a broader replacement term like “pregnant person.”
A recent Mayo Clinic blog said transmasculine individuals don’t “feel” the term “pregnant woman” applies to them.
I have zero problem with a woman who wants to dress, look and live like a man.
Be my guest.
You are a creature of God, and therefore my sister/brother/whatever. I could be your friend.
But just because a transmasculine person may “feel” the term “pregnant woman” does not apply, it scientifically does apply. To medically talk to that person as if it doesn’t, seems weird and possibly dangerous.
When the baby’s ready, it’s not coming out of a penis. It’s gestating in a real uterus and will slide out of a birth canal made possible only with women of the species. Changing language to accommodate what I imagine would be only a very small group of individuals seems weird. This modern inclusion fetish is what my Texas grammy might call “precious” — her polite word for “bullsh*t.”
Look, all I’m saying is that no matter your lifestyle, or how you dress, or with whom you are sexually attracted to and love, the fact remains that no one gets pregnant unless they are biologically female. The term “pregnant woman” is not derogatory, insensitive or inaccurate.
I am not out to offend.
Be you.
Be happy.
Let’s give it the 9-1-1 test.
If you came across a person on the street giving birth, your call to 9-1-1 would be something like this:
“Hello? Yes, I’m at 5th and Elm with a woman about to give birth. Please hurry.”
It would not be something like this:
“Hello? Yes, I’m at 5th and Elm with a person about to give birth. The person is dressed like a man, so he might be transmasculine. I don’t want to be disrespectful of his gender preferences, but he’s taken off his pants and whitie tighties. I asked him if he is non-binary or gender fluid, but he’s panting and pushing too hard to respond. Please hurry because there’s a head crowning between his legs.”
Here’s my advice to Mayo and well-meaning medical professionals: When dealing with a woman, call her a woman, not a person. When dealing with a woman who identifies as a man, do what you need to do to provide that person with the best health care possible. If it means altering your language for comfort, do it. But, don’t pretend the guy doesn’t need birth control advice or a periodic test of the cervix.
Afford everyone the dignity of their own experience, including “trads,” as traditional men and women are sometimes derisively called by the woke?
Leave the rest of us out of it.. That’s not too much to ask, is it?
Thanks for reading. You can find more columns at shermanfrederick.substack.com.
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