# "Pregnant People" v. "Pregnant Women"?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnant-people-v-pregnant-women/950848
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [September 17, 2021, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnant-people-v-pregnant-women/950848 "2021-09-17T23:15:30Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 9
### Author:  [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2021, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnant-people-v-pregnant-women/950848/162 "2021-09-18T10:56:01Z")
Good God, people. I only slept for four hours (dog woke me), and I come back to find this, whatever-this-is … I don’t know whether to call it a discussion or not.
I will now throw some gasoline on the fire: my preferred usage in global situations is “pregnant women.” The fact that that term may not strictly apply in every physiological instance, doesn’t **IMHO** justify broadening the terminology so as to be always inclusive of a numerically small, anomalous\* group.
When referring to specific anomalous instances, by all means, be specifically, physiologically descriptive, e.g., “pregnant man,” “pregnant transplanted uterus,” whatever. But in general, throughout the history of human beings, it’s women who have been pregnant. Quibble over the definition of “women,” if you must.
“Pregnant patients,” okay. But to me **pregnant people** sounds weird.
* * *
\*anomalous–deviating from what is standard, normal, or expected.
* * *
ETA: It’s funny. You never know what topic is going to stir up the troops. Interesting ride. Thanks.
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### Author:  [@Somethingwitty1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Somethingwitty1)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2021, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnant-people-v-pregnant-women/950848/163 "2021-09-18T11:05:41Z")
Well it only got 21 individual posters. Whacky and Kim dominated the discussion. Decent thread. 3 Stars. Would visit again.
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### Author:  [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2021, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnant-people-v-pregnant-women/950848/164 "2021-09-18T12:12:36Z")
Even if we leave out LGBTQ, the term pregnant women is needlessly redundant and in no way more specific, and even problematic and sexist. Pregnant is the only terms that is needed to define the sub-classification after that we are talking about a person (unless we are talking about an animal). Additionally women are people and for far too long people tended to refer to the male subset and women or females would refer to the female. It’s even worse when talking about abortion and someone says people who have abortions… and someone tried to (falsely) correct them by saying ‘women’ who have had abortions. No shit Sherlock, but the issues is not that they are women but they are people and deserve the same rights and respect, not some sub-class.
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### Author:  [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2021, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnant-people-v-pregnant-women/950848/165 "2021-09-18T12:23:52Z")
I’m with you 100% that women deserve rights and respect (including access to abortions).
The rest…whoosh.
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### Author:  [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2021, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnant-people-v-pregnant-women/950848/166 "2021-09-18T12:27:22Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#):
>
> my preferred usage in global situations is “pregnant women.”
> [@ThelmaLou](#):
>
> “Pregnant patients,” okay. But to me **pregnant people** sounds weird.
That’s fine. In most contexts, you are close enough and your audience will understand you. And i predict that over time, and as you encounter it more and more, “pregnant people” will sound less weird to you.
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### Author:  [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2021, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnant-people-v-pregnant-women/950848/167 "2021-09-18T12:45:57Z")
Indeed there’s a tremendous amount of word calisthenics going on to be trans inclusive regarding pregnancy but if you’re pregnant it’s obvious you were born female.
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### Author:  [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2021, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnant-people-v-pregnant-women/950848/168 "2021-09-18T12:48:03Z")
> [@Broomstick](#):
>
> It’s why we don’t call amputees insulting and derogatory names any more - you know what I mean, the words like gimp and cripple.
Over the years I’ve known three situations where people adopted cats that were missing a limb. All three cats were christened with the name “Tripod”.
/tangent
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### Author:  [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2021, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnant-people-v-pregnant-women/950848/169 "2021-09-18T12:50:15Z")
> [@chela](#):
>
> Indeed there’s a tremendous amount of word calisthenics going on to be trans inclusive regarding pregnancy but if you’re pregnant it’s obvious you were born female.
Hardly calisthenics. I bet Shakespeare would have understood “pregnant person” just fine.
But see what i said in the other thread. It’s rude in most contexts to point out that a trans person was thought to be some other gender when they were born.
I do think it’s funny that it’s no one in this thread has suggested “policing language” to be trans inclusive. But several seem to want to police language to be trans exclusive. You might want to step back and think about whether you really want to do that.
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### Author:  [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2021, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnant-people-v-pregnant-women/950848/170 "2021-09-18T12:54:40Z")
Please don’t assign me your prejudicial opinions about what I think.
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### Author:  [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2021, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnant-people-v-pregnant-women/950848/171 "2021-09-18T13:00:29Z")
I’m simply requesting you not police my language on this point.
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### Author:  [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2021, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnant-people-v-pregnant-women/950848/172 "2021-09-18T13:00:46Z")
You are right that Shakespeare would understand “pregnant person” just fine. As would anyone today.
Also, anyone today, or in Shakespeare’s time, would understand “pregnant woman” just fine.
The issue is people griping about using “woman” instead of “person”.
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### Author:  [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2021, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnant-people-v-pregnant-women/950848/173 "2021-09-18T13:01:46Z")
I’ve seen a lot of griping about using person instead of woman. Can you find me a single post in this thread that does the reverse?
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### Author:  [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2021, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnant-people-v-pregnant-women/950848/174 "2021-09-18T13:02:37Z")
Err…yeah.
See the OP.
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### Author:  [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2021, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnant-people-v-pregnant-women/950848/175 "2021-09-18T13:03:40Z")
That post suggests a preference for “woman”.
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### Author:  [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2021, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnant-people-v-pregnant-women/950848/176 "2021-09-18T13:04:10Z")
It’s the basis for the whole thread. See the title.
Maybe I missed something.
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### Author:  [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2021, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnant-people-v-pregnant-women/950848/177 "2021-09-18T13:47:45Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#):
>
> And i predict that over time, and as you encounter it more and more, “pregnant people” will sound less weird to you.
Possibly, but given my age, I’ll probably be dead by then.
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#):
>
> It’s the basis for the whole thread. See the title.-
>
> Maybe I missed something.
No. Everyone else did.
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### Author:  [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2021, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnant-people-v-pregnant-women/950848/178 "2021-09-18T14:30:08Z")
I’m totally on board with “pregnant people.”
On the other hand, I really love [this song](https://youtu.be/LbTB3ASkdOo), so I’m torn.
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### Author:  [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2021, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnant-people-v-pregnant-women/950848/179 "2021-09-18T17:59:59Z")
The song is valid–pregnant women DO tend to be smug but other pregnant people maybe a bit less so. 😉
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### Author:  [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2021, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnant-people-v-pregnant-women/950848/180 "2021-09-18T18:12:28Z")
At the risk of obviously closing the barn door long after the horse has departed, this thread is closed. The discussion is accomplishing nothing except to make people frustrated and angry.
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### Author:  [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2021, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnant-people-v-pregnant-women/950848/181 "2021-09-18T18:12:48Z")
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