{"id":77184,"date":"2025-03-11T14:36:03","date_gmt":"2025-03-11T18:36:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/?p=77184"},"modified":"2025-03-11T15:23:47","modified_gmt":"2025-03-11T19:23:47","slug":"the-trump-administrations-ongoing-effort-to-literally-erase-women","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/the-trump-administrations-ongoing-effort-to-literally-erase-women\/","title":{"rendered":"The Trump Administration\u2019s Ongoing Effort to Literally Erase Women"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Terms like “women” are being increasingly erased from government forms like these, as well as websites and more – all for our protection, of course. (Credit: Jasleen Kaur, Flickr<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Staying updated on the actions of President Donald Trump<\/a>\u2019s administration can feel like playing an especially frantic (and decidedly not-enjoyable) round of Whack-a-Mole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amid the din of pop-up notifications, you may have missed several over the past month about Trump-led efforts to combat the alleged scourge of diversity, equity and inclusion<\/a> \u2013 through word policing. Indeed, he has ordered the erasure of a lengthy list<\/a> of terms from all government websites, and called for discontinued use of them in other contexts, such as school curricula.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among the phrases slated for current and future scrubs: \u201cWomen,\u201d \u201cfemale\u201d and \u201cfeminism.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though it is within the administration\u2019s permitted scope to modify language rules in official government communications, both the nature and breadth of the list of prohibited words is noteworthy. And his team is acting fast to make this a reality \u2013 a New York Times analysis found that over 250 federal agency sites have already been accordingly tweaked since Trump handed down the edict last month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to women in particular, they aren\u2019t stopping<\/a> at the mere removal of words and terms. Grants and federal contracts designed to support women are on the chopping block; government forms will now ask for the signer\u2019s \u201csex\u201d instead of \u201cgender;\u201d and pronoun information is now banned from government email signatures.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Related<\/h4>\n <\/div>\n \n
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\n \n \"Bannon\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n
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\n \n Musk, \u2018Zuck,\u2019 Vance and Bannon \u2013 The Men I Fear My Son Hearing\n <\/a>\n <\/h3>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n

That\u2019s not all. Critical health resources<\/a> for women, including information about contraceptive access and use, have also been deleted in this process. The Pentagon, meanwhile, is now actively ridding<\/a> its online presence of commemorative posts about female military members who made history, as well as tens of thousands of pictures of women who have, or are currently serving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s worth noting that, while officials have acted quickly, this initiative has not been carefully executed. In their haste to rid government entities of anything that might be considered \u201cwoke,\u201d officials took down information about things like the Enola Gay,<\/a> the first aircraft to drop an atomic bomb during warfare \u2013 because, you guessed it, they wanted to purge all use cases of the word \u201cgay.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These acts are also very much at odds with one of Trump\u2019s day-one edicts: An executive order<\/a> calling for \u201crestoring freedom of speech and ending federal censorship.\u201d Specifically, it mandated an end to language considerations and modifications \u201cthat advanced the government\u2019s preferred narrative about significant matters of public debate.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those in charge aren\u2019t concerned about the irony \u2013 they\u2019re happy about the changes, despite questionable motives and slap-dash execution. Pentagon spokesman John Ullyot said in a statement to the Associated Press that he is \u201cpleased by the rapid compliance across the Department with the directive removing DEI content from all platforms.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Women in particular will surely have that elation in mind while struggling to properly identify themselves on official forms, vie for grants to support our small businesses or access resources on HIV prevention. And our weary nation overall will undoubtedly rest more soundly now that we\u2019re protected from the big, scary words.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Related<\/h4>\n <\/div>\n \n
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\n \n \"Jasmine\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n
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\n \n These Are the Kick-Ass Women We Need Right Now\n <\/a>\n <\/h3>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Federal government sites are being scrubbed of any and all information, accolades and more that mention women, as part of a broader push against diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":77185,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"autoblue_enabled":true,"autoblue_custom_message":"Terms like \"women\" are being increasingly erased from government forms, websites and more - all for our protection, of 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