Bette Midler found herself at the center of some Twitter controversy on Monday after expressing her opinion that trans-inclusive language is somehow depriving cis women of their identity.
The actor tweeted, “WOMEN OF THE WORLD! We are being stripped of our rights over our bodies, our lives and even of our name! They don’t call us ‘women’ anymore; they call us ‘birthing people’ or ‘menstruators,’ and even ‘people with vaginas’! Don’t let them erase you! Every human on earth owes you!”
Some people and health care providers have started using terms such as “pregnant or menstruating people” instead of “pregnant or menstruating women” as a way of acknowledging that transgender and nonbinary people are also effected by issues like access to reproductive care. Midler’s tweet prompted a swift response from social media users who pointed out the error with this line of thinking and asking her to reconsider her position. “No one is trying to erase women with inclusive language about people who need abortion care. No one is calling you anything but what you prefer. You should extend that courtesy in return,” author Roxane Gay commented under the post.
Midler’s statement came the same day that singer Macy Gray expressed her own controversial opinions on Piers Morgan’s show Uncensored. She said, “I will say this, and everyone’s gonna hate me, but as a woman, just because you go change your [body] parts, doesn’t make you a woman, sorry.” Gray said that while she supports trans rights, she draws the line at athletic competitions. While those statements sparked a fair amount of backlash, they also secured Gray one high-profile new fan. Following the TV appearance, author J.K. Rowling tweeted, “Today feels like a good day to ensure I’ve bought @MacyGraysLife’s entire back catalogue,” alongside a screenshot of Gray tweeting “truth hurts” in response to a TV presenter who said that Gray had killed what was left of her career with those transphobic remarks. Rowling also retweeted Midler’s statement.
Rowling has made a number of her own controversial remarks on the subject over the years, including lodging a similar complaint about the use of trans-inclusive language in June 2020. The author mocked an article titled “Creating a more equal post-COVID-19 world for people who menstruate,” writing, “‘People who menstruate.’ I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?”