There are a couple of books of guidelines for reporters to follow on, say, when to abbreviate a state name in a headline. One is the Associated Press Stylebook, which this editor has propping up his keyboard. We at Twitchy are supposed to follow Associated Press style, but this editor sort of gave up on that when the AP explained that it was now capitalizing black but not white because “white people generally do not share the same history and culture” (and black people around the world do?) and also because “capitalizing the term white, as is done by white supremacists, risks subtly conveying legitimacy to such beliefs.” Yeah, no.
The Associated Press is back with an update to its guidelines on the use of “pregnant people” to make it easier to write stories about “people who seek an abortion.”
New AP style guidance alert: pic.twitter.com/bCYr8KExr2
— Kimberlee Kruesi (@kkruesi) May 4, 2022
LMAO at the AP trying to explain why when it's writing about abortion, the story is about women, but when it's writing about transgenderism, the story is about pregnant people https://t.co/iUgLEbsX3o
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) May 5, 2022
We’d noticed “women” suddenly came back into fashion after that draft decision was leaked.
This is interesting. AP trying to row the canoe back against the current. https://t.co/nCuCuNyIfo
— Seth Mandel (@SethAMandel) May 5, 2022
We should come up with shorthand, like a single word, for people assumed to be able to give birth at some point in thier life.
— marilyn maupin (@marilynmaupin) May 5, 2022
How about “woman”?
— Lucky Adams (@takegoodluck) May 5, 2022
What an insult to women
— Beth Baumann (@eb454) May 4, 2022
Are YOU a biologist???
— Alan R. Levy (@alanesque) May 5, 2022
Are women who can't give birth included in this term?
— Brendon Marotta (@bdmarotta) May 4, 2022
So change the language to fit the narrative for the flavor of the week? How do you keep track of it all?
— James (@lmntJames) May 5, 2022
Really following the science, eh.
— Jeff Richman ⛈ (@jcrichman) May 4, 2022
I prefer to call them birthing bodies
— Dr. Jackson Brown, Ph.D (@DrJacksonBrown) May 5, 2022
Seek those experiences? WTH?
— Terran Spock (@SpockTerran) May 4, 2022
Political winds: shifting.
— Bronx Hombre (Recovering Leftist) (@BronxGuy1282) May 4, 2022
Kinda late in the game for pleasantries, isn't it?
— Dean (@TheDudeInSF) May 5, 2022
It is time for news publishers with integrity (and common sense, eg @wsj) to abandon the AP Style Guide
— Mike Moss (@_MikeMoss) May 5, 2022
We did it guys. We erased women.
— AR-18 🇻🇦 (@PhelanDriscoll) May 4, 2022
Yeah, the AP can stick it.
— The Keith Variant 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🍊🍊🍊 (@KeithInLakewood) May 4, 2022
I do not comply with gender ideology. I am not joining your cult.
— Human beings aren't lego toys 🇺🇸 (@wakeari60) May 4, 2022
That’s why it was so important that your teachers gave you a solid grounding in queer theory when you were in kindergarten; then you’d understand.
Birthing people can’t seek abortions because there is no birth involved.
— FarmJoe the Cat (@poster112) May 5, 2022
Good point.
Or how about this crazy idea! Since you admit that transgender men & nonbinary people, aren't in fact "women", then stop changing what WOMEN are called, to accommodate other people. Women are not "birthing people", we are women. Stop changing OUR identities to include others.
— 🇺🇸 ₩ᵃᶳᵏᵉᴵᵚᵉᵉ₩ᵃᵝᵝꜟᵗ and 2½ others 🇺🇸 (@WaskelweeWabbit) May 5, 2022
Someone at the AP realized how bad this makes reporting on Roe look.
— carl..von..claws (@carl_clawso) May 4, 2022
We told you how California Gov. Gavin Newsom screwed up the other day and referred to “women” instead of “birthing people.”
The AP is just beyond stupid at this point.
— Jim Gibney (@Gibney_Jim) May 4, 2022
We’ve read it a few times now and still aren’t sure we get it; reporters are allowed to write about “women” and confine “pregnant people” to stories that specifically address the experiences of people who do not identify as women, like trans men, who can get pregnant.
Related:
Associated Press updates its style guide to capitalize Black, while white remains in lowercase to avoid ‘subtly conveying legitimacy’ to white supremacy https://t.co/W2DQF62iBr
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) July 20, 2020
