Actress Bette Midler criticized the transgender movement’s use of terms such as “birthing person” to refer to biological women in a tweet Monday.
“WOMEN OF THE WORLD! We are being stripped of our rights over our bodies, our lives and even of our name!” the actress wrote.
“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!”
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!
— bettemidler (@BetteMidler) July 4, 2022
LGBTQ activists criticized Midler for her comment.
Drag queen and LGBT activist Dr. Panti Bliss-Cabrera responded to Midler in a tweet, calling her concerns, “fake nonsense.”
“No one is erasing women. In a few small healthcare cases where appropriate they are using trans inclusive language. That’s all,” Cabrera said. (RELATED: ‘TRY BREASTFEEDING!’: Bette Midler Hit With Sharp Backlash For Defending Baby Formula Shortage)
“Really disappointed in this as a trans man and a Bette Midler fan,” another Twitter user wrote.
Author Roxane Gay also criticized Midler for her concern about the new terms for women.
“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,” Gay wrote.
Terms like “birthing person” and “people with vaginas” have gained prominence in left-wing activist circles as terms deemed more inclusive of transgender individuals. Many transgender activists use the terms to refer to biological women in an effort to not exclude biological men who identify as women.
After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June, many liberal politicians used these sorts of terms when reacting to the decision. Democratic Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar said the ruling was, “devastating for millions of women and pregnant people.” Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf told “women and pregnant people” in the state that they could still get abortions there.