Definitions
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun
Feminist spelling ofwoman . - noun
Feminist spelling ofwomen .
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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He hates the word womyn, and anything with the suffix - centric.
White Male Paranoia 2008
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These days, she and other members worry about the future of Alapine, which is one of about 100 below-the-radar lesbian communities in North America, known as womyn's lands (their preferred spelling), whose guiding philosophies date from a mostly bygone era.
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The NYT story I linked to concerns the "about 100 below-the-radar lesbian communities in North America, known as womyn's lands (their preferred spelling), whose guiding philosophies date from a mostly bygone era."
nancynall.com 2009
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D See, that post on "womyn" may have been humor, but I don't believe that it was reverse psychology.
Good, better, best 2009
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Sort of like the way the spelling "womyn" is only used by people attacking feminism, not actual feminists.
OT: Everybody Is Kung-Fu Fighting Jaime J. Weinman 2006
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When the time came for his presentation, one of the campus "womyn" sabotaged it by pulling the plug on a television set Scott intended to use to show a video, and refused to relinquish it while other onlookers attempted to shout him down.
The anti-intellectual trend among abortion advocates Suzanne 2006
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Sort of like the way the spelling "womyn" is only used by people attacking feminism, not actual feminists.
OT: Everybody Is Kung-Fu Fighting Jaime J. Weinman 2006
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I've also seen the spelling "womyn" used in earnest.
OT: Everybody Is Kung-Fu Fighting Jaime J. Weinman 2006
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What compelled these "womyn" to round up the papers?
NewsBusters.org - Exposing Liberal Media Bias Alex Knepper 2010
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It might be some politically correct spelling of the word, like "womyn" instead of woman.
Latest Articles Pan-African News 2009
sionnach commented on the word womyn
I've also seen the variant wimmin.
December 9, 2007
she commented on the word womyn
I've never understood this one. "Yes! We will distinguish ourselves by spelling like popstars."
September 9, 2008
reesetee commented on the word womyn
I dislike it immensely, she, but I understand the thinking behind it--and it had nothing to do with spelling like a pop star. The spelling was coined to point out what feminists (in the "old" sense of the term) believed was an inherent bias in the English language, which in turn they believed reflected historical and social subordination of women. The spellings of "woman" and "women," they argued, suggest that women are a subset of men. It was an effort to "own" what they were called.
The whole premise, if I understand it correctly, was based on the argument that language can be a powerful tool in shaping how people perceive others and how they understand the world.
September 9, 2008
chained_bear commented on the word womyn
They never did much with history, though. Herstory just doesn't do it for me. :(
September 9, 2008
she commented on the word womyn
Oh yes! I wasn't serious.
It seems to me, though, that woman is the sort of word you don't see as implying anything (like so many words in English used daily, remaining oblivious to their roots) until it's specifically brought to your attention. (Funny how, in focusing on the implications of the word woman, one could also choose to disregard the products of intentional misspelling being considered almost universally silly!)
And, by that logic (though faulty — woman is from wífman, a compound where wíf (wife) meant woman, and man meant human being), wife — which, for a time, after originally meaning "woman," meant "woman of lowly rank or employment" — should be just as reprehensible, yes?
September 9, 2008
chained_bear commented on the word womyn
Allow me to take this opportunity to plug my list like a shameless hussy (the opposite of a goody or goodwife), even though it's only tangentially related to the conversation.
September 9, 2008
yarb commented on the word womyn
Wouldn't this old chestnut have more credence if a similar pattern existed in all, or even most, other languages?
September 9, 2008
she commented on the word womyn
Ain't no shame in the game!
ahem, edit: Oh, hello, yarb! That was directed at c_b.
September 9, 2008
chained_bear commented on the word womyn
Ha ha!! :)
September 9, 2008
oroboros commented on the word womyn
Interesting. The 'y' also has anatomical implications, n'est-ce pas? An extra dimension of symbolism.
September 9, 2008
she commented on the word womyn
I assumed it was 'my,' in the way of 'reclaiming ownership.'
September 9, 2008
reesetee commented on the word womyn
She, sorry--I apparently took you more seriously than you did yourself!
From what I've read, one of the arguments against this whole "y" thing was that etymologically, the words "man" and "woman" already differ. It's pretty clear that it wasn't a case of carefully analyzing the roots of English words. But I'm just presenting the argument as I understand it; I'm certainly no expert on the subject. :-)
September 10, 2008
chained_bear commented on the word womyn
Whatever... I'm gonna say "ain't no shame in the game" as often as possible. :)
September 10, 2008