The prestigious Johns Hopkins University has erased the word “women” from a new “inclusive language guide” in its definition of the term “lesbian”.
The Baltimore-based university is known for its excellence in education and research, especially in the field of medicine and recognized as one of the best medical institutions in the world.
Still, the institution appears to fall far short of basic gender-involving terminology in the university’s LGBTQ+ glossary.
The comprehensive glossary is filled with definitions that aim to be inclusive, reflecting an evolving understanding of gender and sexual identity.
But the current definition of ‘lesbian’ describes her as ‘a non-male attracted to non-males’. Many feminists were particularly furious that the word “woman” had been defeated – when their gay male counterparts were still called “men”.
Johns Hopkins University has excluded the word “women” from the definition of “lesbian” in its new inclusive language guide
JHU’s definition was endorsed by Paula Neira, director of the LGBTQ+ equity and education program at the university, who is transgender herself.
The glossary is emblematic of the ongoing struggle facing transgender rights advocates who claim the word ‘women’ is ‘being erased’ in favor of woke terms such as ‘people who give birth’ and ‘menstruators’. “.
Biological women who are also lesbians have also complained of being bullied and shamed if they refuse to have sex with transgender women who still have penises, the new guide from Johns Hopkins likely to reveal. further inflame this argument.
Proponents say the controversial terms include transgender men and non-binary people, but critics say they effectively erase another historically oppressed minority – women, at the expense of a tiny minority.
Some organizations have compromised by publishing guides using phrases such as “women and people giving birth,” but Johns Hopkins has made no such concessions.
Many progressives have started using terms such as “pregnant” and even “having a womb.”
Former US Navy nurse Paula Neira was one of the nation’s foremost experts on transgender military service and was instrumental in the repeal of the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy. in the army.
The comprehensive glossary is filled with definitions that aim to be inclusive, reflecting an evolving understanding of gender and sexual identity
The entire department Neira works in is overseen by Sherita Hill Golden, MD (pictured) who holds the label of Diversity Manager
JHU’s definition was endorsed by Paula Neira, director of the LGBTQ+ equity and education program at the university – who is transgender herself.
She works in the school’s Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Health Equity.
Neira chairs the task force on sexual orientation and gender identity at the university.
She was one of the nation’s leading experts on transgender military service, playing an instrumental role in repealing the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy in the military that allowed gay, lesbian and bisexual people to serve openly in the armed forces. .
All The department in which Neira works is supervised by Sherita Hill Golden, MD who has the Chief Diversity Officer label.
Neira chairs the task force on sexual orientation and gender identity at the university. She is pictured at a Capital Pride celebration in Washington, DC this weekend
Golden, who is black, helped implement the university’s “Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Service Standards,” a system-wide policy prohibiting patient discrimination against employees and interns.
Golden also introduced a system-wide train-the-trainer program on unconscious bias and anti-racism.
This has led some to accuse the university of erasing women by noting the lack of non-binary inclusive language when it comes to the definition of “gay man” – who are still referred to as “men”.
Historically, “gay” has been used specifically for men and women – and more broadly for all homosexual or bisexual individuals, whereas “lesbian” has always been a gender-specific term.
The current definition of “lesbian” in the Johns Hopkins Glossary explicitly acknowledges such a shift from previous definitions intended to include non-binary people who identify as lesbian.
Online, the outrage was quick and direct, with critics sharing their disgust
Online, the outrage was quick and direct: ‘What is this @JohnsHopkins utter nonsense? “Non-men”? We are women. Stop erasing us,” Amy Curtis wrote.
“The new progressive definition of woman has just been dropped: we are now ‘non-men,'” Maggie explained.
“Why is a lesbian a non-man while a homosexual is not a non-woman? “Progressive misogyny,” suggested Arielle Scarcella.
“One of the most prestigious universities in the world reduces women to ‘non-men’ in the pursuit of LGBTQ perfection. Now see why women are so angry at gender ideology. The erasure of women as a distinct sexual class is its core,” said Susan Dalgety.
‘What is the real f….? So now we are no longer just reduced to being body parts or bleeds or just a subset of women, we are now ‘non-men’, wrote British TV presenter Julia Hartley-Brewer.
The incident echoes what is a broad conservative backlash against LGBTQ+ rights and the growing acceptance of queer communities in society.
Several state legislatures have passed laws targeting transgender communities, focusing in particular on parental access to gender-affirming care for trans children.
Influenced by a small number of far-right voices, some conservatives have also criticized companies and brands, such as Target and Bud Light, for marketing products aimed at LGBTQ+ communities or participating in Pride Month events.
Johns Hopkins University’s definition differs from that used by other organizations, including the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the Human Rights Campaign (HRC).
The HRC defines lesbian as an attraction to women while including references to non-binary lesbians.
The ADL definition describes a lesbian as a woman who is attracted to other women without any additional qualifying phrases.
Both organizations include more flexible definitions of “gay” that encompass all gender identities, with the HRC also using the term “queer” as an umbrella definition.
Johns Hopkins University was known for its rigorous academics, commitment to research and innovation, and contributions to advancing knowledge and solving complex problems in a wide range of fields.
The focus on such waking definitions shows how far Johns Hopkins University is from being one of the most prestigious and revered scientific institutions in the world.
The university was known for its rigorous academics, commitment to research and innovation, and contributions to advancing knowledge and solving complex problems in a wide range of fields.
In recent times, the establishment has been tracking a slew of global data relating to the coronavirus in regards to cases, deaths and vaccinations around the world.
The university helped develop the first effective treatment for sickle cell disease in the 1940s and, ten years later, was involved in the development of the polio vaccine.
In the late 1940s, the university was the first to capture images of the Earth’s curvature from a V-2 rocket and was instrumental in developing the first supersonic ramjet.
In the field of modern neuroscience, Johns Hopkins has been at the forefront of pioneering treatments and research, including mapping the human genome and developing the first effective cancer immunotherapy.
The university was a pioneer in heart surgery – the school performed the first successful surgical repair of babies with congenital heart defects.
Advances in HIV/AIDS research and treatment have also been at the forefront of the work of Johns Hopkins, which has been actively involved since the early years of the epidemic, developing diagnostic tests for HIV and paving the way for antiretroviral therapies.
But it’s not just here on Earth that the university’s influence is felt – the school has also shown leadership in space exploration and astrophysics.
Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory has been involved in many space missions and scientific discoveries, including the development of NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft, which provided the first close-up images of Pluto and its moons and has even helped land the first spacecraft on an asteroid.
