Why Michelle Obama now spells woman ‘womxn’

Michelle Obama raised eyebrows with her spelling of the word woman in a recent Instagram post. This is why she’s doing it.

Former First Lady Michelle Obama raised eyebrows with her spelling of the word woman in a new Instagram post about the recently leaked Supreme Court draft opinion on US abortion rights.

The leak, first reported by Politico, indicated that the court, in an opinion penned by Justice Samuel Alito, was poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that legalised abortion nationwide.

Obama became the most recent prominent leader in the Democratic Party to release a statement on the court leak and what it may mean for American women.

“State politicians will have the power to strip womxn of the right to make decisions about their bodies and their healthcare,” she wrote last weekend in one slide of a lengthy post.

Why Obama spells woman ‘womxn’

The spelling of “womxn” has in recent years been used as an alternative because, according to some progressives, the word “woman” has problematic, patriarchal roots.

Dictionary.com defines “womxn” as an alternative spelling to woman and women to avoid the suggestion of sexism perceived in the sequences m-a-n and m-e-n and to be inclusive of trans and nonbinary women.

Obama’s use of the spelling drew a reaction.

“So in supposedly defending women’s rights, she can’t even use the word ‘women’ – unbelievable,” British commentator Piers Morgan tweeted.

“Democrats, don’t expect the Obamas to save you from weird woke terminology,” Republican pollster Patrick Ruffini quipped as he posted a screenshot of the slide.

“Just asking a practical question here, how does one pronounce “womxn?” former CNN political commentator Doug Heye asked.

Michelle Obama. (Photo by Billboard Music Awards 2021 via Getty Images)

In her larger message, Obama opined on how women may lose rights to make decisions about their own bodies.

“It’s been a tough couple of weeks since we saw the leaked SCOTUS draft opinion on abortion,” she wrote. “If it comes to pass, we may soon live in a country where millions of women — not to mention our children and grandchildren — lose the right to make decisions about their bodies and their health. Even if we knew the courts were heading toward this day, it doesn’t make the frustration, grief, and fear any less real.

“But we don’t have to stand idly by while others try to turn back the clock on progress,” she continued. “I’m so inspired by everyone out marching today. And I know that we’re going to see so many folks carrying this energy forward to the elections in November and in every election after that.”

The former First Lady is pro-choice.

Obama completed her message by encouraging her followers to check their voter registration status.

Liberal pundits have similarly sounded the alarm on the controversial leak, with some making radical comparisons and predictions.

MSNBC host Andrea Mitchell and former Obama Attorney-General Eric Holder discussed the possibility of the overturning of Roe leading to the end of interracial marriage or even reversing the Brown v. Board of Education decision outlawing racial segregation in schools.

“The View” co-host Joy Behar suggested the court would next target gay marriage.

MSNBC “The ReidOut” host Joy Reid suggested several other rulings in the wake of Roe.

“That could apply to almost anything,” she said. “Contraception, same-sex marriage, interracial marriage, civil rights, integration, women’s rights to vote.”

This article was originally published by Fox News and reproduced with permission