Lesbian fights claims that lesbians are 'non-men attracted to non-men'
Carol Hatch, who has been a lesbian as long as she can remember, responds to the LGBTQ community redefining lesbians to mean "non-men who are attracted to non-men."
Johns Hopkins University has fueled outrage for calling lesbians "non-men" in its updated online glossary of LGBTQ terms, prompting it to temporarily remove the page from its website.
Prominent figures including J.K. Rowling and others ripped the college for the entry, accusing the well-known medical research school of erasing women with the new definition.
Users spotted the entry Monday while reading through the "LGBTQ Glossary" posted on Johns Hopkins University’s "Gender and Sexuality Resources" webpage.
LESBIAN FIGHTS CLAIMS THAT LESBIANS ARE 'NON-MEN ATTRACTED TO NON-MEN'
In its updated glossary of LGBTQ terms, Johns Hopkins University defined lesbians as "non-men" attracted to other "non-men." ((Photo by JHU Sheridan Libraries/Gado/Getty Images).)
The A-Z list featured a series of LGBTQ-related terms and their definitions – from "AFAB (Assigned Female at Birth)" to "WSW," an "abbreviation for women who have sex for women."
Critical readers voiced most concern over the definition of "Lesbian," which read, "A non-man attracted to non-men."
The entry noted the reason why the school guide wasn’t using Lesbian to define relationships between "women," claiming that isn’t exclusive enough.
It added, "While past definitions refer to ‘lesbian’ as a woman who is emotionally, romantically, and/or sexually attracted to other women, this updated definition includes non-binary people who may also identify with the label."
The entry for "Gay Man" however referred explicitly to "men" and didn’t provide a more inclusive term for LGBTQ people who may identify with the label.
That definition read, "A man who is emotionally, romantically, sexually, affectionately, or relationally attracted to other men, or who identifies as a member of the gay community. At times, ‘gay’ is used to refer to all people, regardless of gender, who have their primary sexual and or romantic attractions to people of the same gender. ‘Gay’ is an adjective (not a noun) as in ‘He is a gay man.’"
"Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling, a feminist opposing what she sees as the trans movement erasing women, mocked the two seemingly inconsistent definitions on Twitter.
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An updated LGBTQ glossary from John Hopkins University referred to lesbians as "non-men" rather than women. (Photo by Marji Lang/LightRocket via Getty Images)
She tweeted, "Man: no definition needed. Non-man (formerly known as woman): a being definable only by reference to the male. An absence, a vacuum where there's no man-ness."
Commentator and out lesbian Arielle Scarcella made the same point, asking, "Why is a lesbian a non-man but a gay person isn’t a non-woman? Progressive misogyny?"
Conservative influencer @LibertyAnders remarked, "New progressive definition of woman just dropped: We are now ‘non-men’."
Conservative Twitter commentator Amy Curtis tweeted, "What is this absolute nonsense @JohnsHopkins? ‘Non-men’? We are women. Stop erasing us."
Satire account Titania McGrath quipped, "Thank you @JohnsHopkins for reminding us that ‘woman’ is an outdated and offensive term. From now on, the phrase is ‘non-man’.
Al Jazeera reporter Sonia Gallego remarked, "One of the most prestigious universities in the US @JohnsHopkins is actively destroying the category of women - adult human females. We are now to be referred to as ‘Non-men’. I don’t think even @MargaretAtwood could have imagined this.".
At some point on Tuesday, the university took down its glossary in response to the online criticism. The page currently reads, "Johns Hopkins strives to create a campus culture that is inclusive and welcoming for all gender identities, sexual orientations, experiences and viewpoints, and we are committed to ensuring Johns Hopkins is a place where LGBTQ people feel supported.
"The LGBTQ Glossary serves as an introduction to the range of identities and terms that are used within LGBTQ communities, and is not intended to serve as the definitive answers as to how all people understand or use these terms.
"Upon becoming aware of the language in question, we have begun working to determine the origin and context of the glossary’s definitions. We have removed the page from our website while we gather more information."
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Johns Hopkins didn't respond to a request for comment.
This article was updated to show Johns Hopkins removed the glossary from its website.