Leftists tear into AP Stylebook for recommending avoidance of the term 'TERF'



Leftists pounced on the AP Stylebook for recommending that people avoid using the acronym "TERF," which stands for "trans-exclusionary radical feminist."

"Avoid the vague and politicized terms trans-exclusionary radical feminist or its acronym, TERF, and gender-critical to describe cisgender women or others who object to the inclusion of transgender women in women's spaces. Instead, be specific about a person's or group's objections, and paraphrase quotations that use the terms unless needed for a compelling reason," AP Stylebook tweeted.

\u201cOn our updated Transgender Topical Guide: trans-exclusionary radical feminist.\nWe recommend avoiding the vague and politicized term to describe cisgender women or others who object to the inclusion of transgender women in women's spaces.\nhttps://t.co/HEBdoiEWnM\u201d
— APStylebook (@APStylebook) 1686764560

But leftists tore into AP Stylebook for making the suggestion.

"This isn’t a style tip. It’s a politically-motivated transphobic wet-paper-towel mealy-mouthed stance. This is wrong, and it’s anti-queer, and cruel. Do better, AP. Right now," one person tweeted.

"This is journalistic malpractice," someone asserted.

"TERF is specific. It says exactly what it means. You are f****** cowards at best, and TERFs at worst. Literally trash. Glad that my editorial house doesn't follow your style, and I will certainly not be taking advice from you any time soon," someone else tweeted.

"'TERF' and 'Gender Critical' are concise, useful terms that describe a reactionary political bloc whose "objections" are based in transphobia and junk science. AP is laundering a hate movement's reputation and giving it legitimacy it doesn't deserve. Shameful," someone tweeted.

"Pretty f***** up that @APStylebook is siding with literal fascists trying to literally kidnap and literally murder trans people rather than advise journalists use the literal descriptive term. Cowards!" someone wrote.

Cultural debate continues to rage over whether men who identify as women should be allowed to utilize faciltiies designated for females, such as women's restrooms, and whether men who identify as women should be allowed to compete in women's and girls' sports.

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AP Stylebook clarifies when to use 'pregnant women' instead of 'pregnant people'



Just a few months after updating its style guide to include phrases such as "pregnant people" and "people seeking abortions," the AP has attempted to clarify the context in which such phrases should be used. In most cases, the AP states, gendered phrases that refer to women are "acceptable."

According to a tweet from the @APStylebook account on Wednesday, phrases that specifically identify women as the group of people who can get pregnant may, in fact, be appropriate.

"Pregnant women or women seeking abortions is acceptable phrasing," the AP wrote.

However, there is a catch.

"Phrasing like pregnant people or people seeking abortions is also acceptable to include people who have those experiences but do not identify as women," the AP continued, "such as some transgender men and some nonbinary people."


\u201cWe now have guidance saying that "pregnant women" or "women seeking abortions" is acceptable phrasing. \nPhrases like "pregnant people" or "people seeking abortions" are acceptable when you want to be inclusive of people who have those experiences but do not identify as women.\u201d
— APStylebook (@APStylebook) 1660745199

The AP cautions that men and women alike should "use judgment" in such cases, always keeping in mind that "neutral alternatives" that make no reference to gender are "also acceptable." "Overly clinical language," the AP insists, should be avoided.

This updated style tip comes just three months after the previous updated style tip, which first introduced the gender-neutral phrases "pregnant people" and "people seeking abortions" only for those stories "that specifically address the experiences of people who do not identify as women." Thus, the latest update is not so much a departure from the previous update as a clarification about when to use supposedly more inclusive alternatives.

Still, this update does imply that a generalized association between women and pregnancy is "acceptable," with some notable exceptions.

But most tweet commenters seemed to prefer to keep things simple.

"In the entire history of human beings on this planet, only women have ever been pregnant," replied @DanShreffler.

"I love the continuing efforts to make basic communication as difficult and exhaustive as possible," said another response.

Others took issue with the word women, not because of the gender it connotes, but because of the age.

"Please keep in mind that the use of 'people' is inclusive of *girls* as well as trans/non-binary people. A ten-year-old is not a 'pregnant woman.' Calling her that minimizes the horror of what’s happening in the US," wrote one user, perhaps in reference to the recent alleged rape of a 10-year-old girl in Ohio.

The AP claims that though it publishes a spiral-bound version of its Stylebook updates only every other year, it updates its Stylebook digital services "throughout the year as style changes and updates are made."

Jason Whitlock tells Tucker Carlson how the media, left use language to control black Americans



Sportswriter Jason Whitlock appeared on Fox News host Tucker Carlson's show Friday where he tore into the media and liberals for manipulating language in order to get black Americans to "live up to our skin color."

What's the background?

Whitlock's fiery rebuttal of the left came after the Associated Press amended its style guide in June, declaring news organizations should capitalize the "b" in "black" when referring to black Americans and black culture.

Capitalize the term Black as an adjective in a racial, ethnic or cultural sense: Black people, Black culture, Black… https://t.co/92ATB7b1Ox
— APStylebook (@APStylebook)1593024211.0

In an essay on OutKick, Whitlock wrote last week, "My skin color doesn't define me. It's simply the wonderful packaging God chose for me. When people see me and hear my name, I want them to think Christian, American, intelligent and honest. Those are the characteristics I want to define me."

What did Whitlock tell Carlson?

While speaking with Carlson, Whitlock made it clear why he thinks it's problematic for the media and liberals to give such special attention to the word "black" — and why the problem is much bigger than the mere capitalization of one letter.

"It is a way of defining to black people that your most prized possession, your greatest asset, your most defining characteristic is your skin color," Whitlock said.

He continued:

No one else has to live up to their skin color. They are free to accentuate their intelligence, their faith in God, their commitment to family, their love of freedom. But we, as black people, as defined by the white liberals, in my view, running the mainstream media, running Hollywood, we have to live up to our skin color above all else, and that's just not much of an attribute, in terms of— it's a great packaging. I'm very proud of being black. But that's not my number one attribute.

I want to be defined by my faith in God. I want to be defined by my intelligence. That's what I want people to see when they think about me, not my skin color.

In fact, Whitlock said that liberals and the media emphasize "black" as a means of control, and related it to the mindset of slave owners.

"These people, 400 years later, these are the ideological descendants of those bigots from 400 years ago, doubling down a written reminder to black people, your skin color is your defining characteristic. And therefore, we are going to limit your freedom. You spend all of your energy trying to be unapologetically black. Everybody else gets to go out and try to be intelligent, responsible, God-fearing, patriotic," he said.

What's worse, Whitlock said, is that the media and white liberals — citing comedian Chelsea Handler, who recently said she had to remind rapper 50 Cent that he was black because he said he would support President Donald Trump — take it upon themselves to define what is and is not "black."

"We are not even in control of that, so we are actually trying to meet standards defined for us by other people, live up to their standards, and they are defining blackness as a lot of things that just aren't healthy for us," Whitlock explained.

Tucker Carlson - Jason Whitlock On Being Defined By Skin Color www.youtube.com

New AP Stylebook guidance recommends using 'unrest' instead of 'riot' to avoid stigmatizing protesters



The Associated Press Stylebook tweeted an admonishment to stop using the word "riot" to describe political protests and instead use the milder "unrest" to avoid stigmatizing protesters.

The guidance was tweeted on Tuesday amid numerous protests, riots and looting across the country.

"Use care in deciding which term best applies: A riot is a wild or violent disturbance of the peace involving a group of people. The term riot suggests uncontrolled chaos and pandemonium," the official AP Stylebook Twitter account said.

New guidance on AP Stylebook Online:Use care in deciding which term best applies:A riot is a wild or violent dis… https://t.co/JgoCLzat38
— APStylebook (@APStylebook)1601487064.0

"Focusing on rioting and property destruction rather than underlying grievance has been used in the past to stigmatize broad swaths of people protesting against lynching, police brutality or for racial justice, going back to the urban uprisings of the 1960s," the AP Stylebook explained.

Rioting and looting erupted in the wake of the death of George Floyd while in custody of Minneapolis police officers. Many on the left have bristled at headlines that focused on the destruction caused by the rioting instead of the stated purpose of the protests.

The Associated Press recommended using more mild terms when referring to property destruction from the rioting.

"Unrest is a vaguer, milder and less emotional term for a condition of angry discontent and protest verging on revolt," the AP continued.

"Protest and demonstration refer to specific actions such as marches, sit-ins, rallies or other actions meant to register dissent. They can be legal or illegal, organized or spontaneous, peaceful or violent, and involve any number of people," the AP said in a further tweet. "Revolt and uprising both suggest a broader political dimension or civil upheavals, a sustained period of protests or unrest against powerful groups or governing systems."

Revolt and uprising both suggest a broader political dimension or civil upheavals, a sustained period of protests o… https://t.co/Di1zFUXLnn
— APStylebook (@APStylebook)1601487065.0

The stylebook has been criticized in the past for seeming to bow to left-wing pressure to redefine words and phrases.

In May, critics on Twitter had a field day mocking the stylebook for banning the use of the word "mistress" as archaic and sexist. In 2013, the stylebook banned the use of the word "illegal immigrant" and recommended instead the use of the term "undocumented" when referring to illegal aliens.

Here's more about the rioting and looting in America:

Black-Owned Businesses Among Those Damaged By Vandals During Protestswww.youtube.com