orthography - Is it acceptable to use "womyn" or "womin" instead of "women"?


I have often seen/heard the two terms "womyn" and "womin" in many articles and speeches about feminism or women's rights issues. I couldn't find them in any online dictionary except for the Oxford Dictionary which describes it as



non-standard spelling of ‘women’ adopted by some feminists in order to avoid the word ending -men.



And Urban Dictionary, which has (second definition):



This is a term used by feminists who feel that having the word "man" in the word "woman" makes women a subset of men. So, to make themselves a non subset, they changed the letter 'e' to a 'y'.



Is it acceptable to use these alternate spellings in my writings and conversations with natives (educated/uneducated)? Does it sound strange, aggressive, or odd in the modern English language? Is it likely to prejudice the minds of my audience against me? Is it illegal to use it in writings and conversations? Which kinds of danger can threaten me?


That is, are these alternate spellings seen as uneducated? Are they used solely by strongly feminist groups who are looked down upon? Or are these spellings seen more positively?


Now, what is my motivation?


I thought it might prejudice my audiences regardless of their ideas about feminists, or even an ordinary woman/womyn who likes to avoid sexism at least in her talks and writings. Furthermore, if I wanted to work with a group of people who hate feminists or these kinds of considerations in language, it would help me to decide about changing my workplace or hiding my ideas!



Answer



If you use the spelling womyn your readers will assume you are drawing attention to the oppression of women. The spelling womyn has a definite connotation of social purpose: it is an example of consciousness raising (it “makes you think”). It challenges the prevailing belief that women are created to serve men. The challenge hinges upon a widely circulated story in the scriptural text Genesis. The story is that Eve was made from Adam’s rib to create for him a suitable servant, and that Adam named the new “species”, saying



“… This one shall be called ‘woman,’
for out of man this one has been taken.”¹



This false etymology has been taken for true for so long that it is not even questioned or thought about by most people.


(Etymologically speaking, the spelling womyn is equally false. If one wanted to raise consciousness consistent with etymology, one might begin calling men and women weres and wifs.)²


Your use of womyn is not likely to be perceived as uneducated: the spelling is used in books and academic writing.³ But you are likely to prejudice some of your audience against you. The spelling womyn is readily recognized by Christian fundamentalists as a challenge to the literal truth of Genesis, a challenge not only to their belief in the primacy of men but in scriptural inerrancy and by extension their entire religious system.⁴


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