Bette Middler Under Fire For Publicly Realizing ‘Women’ Are Being Erased

Bette Middler was in a Tweetin’ mood the other day and said something that she may or may not regret. While talking about womanhood, the Hocus Pocus 2 actress condemned the current trans-inclusive language being used. She said that terms like “birthing people” and “menstruators” essentially erase women. She’s now under fire and the Tweet has gone viral.

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Bette Doesn’t Like The Terms “Birthing People” and “Menstruators”

Her Tweet sparked a grand mix of fury and praise, leaving many of her own fans angered and those who don’t usually side with her surprised at their agreement.

Bette’s initial Tweet said:

“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!”

This Tweet came on the heels of speaking out against the overturning of Roe v. Wade (see below).

So, a lot of Bette’s followers are staunch feminists and human rights activists, which is why the comment about erasure ruffled so many feathers.

“Bad Take” Bette

While Bette likely wasn’t trying to be transphobic, many took her comment to be a “bad take.”

Dr. Panti Bliss-Cabrera, a drag performer and LGBTQIA+ activist, told Bette:

“No. Don’t fall for the anti-trans panic fake nonsense. No one is erasing women. In a few small healthcare cases where appropriate they are using trans inclusive language. That’s all.”

Feminist Theorist and Theoretical Physicist Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein expressed her disappointment as well.

“Bette, as a fan, seeing this tweet from you is just heartbreaking. The point of the anti-choice movement is to try and control the bodies of people assigned female at birth, including trans men, and force gender identities and gender roles on *all* of us.”

Dr. Prescod-Weinstein continued, “Cis women have nothing to lose and everything to gain by acknowledging the links between the anti-abortion movement and transphobia, which are all about attacking bodily autonomy in support of patriarchal supremacy.”

“Women Are People… Support Our Trans Siblings”

Author Racheline Maltese responded, “This is disappointing. Women are people. It’s important in the current battle for abortion rights and bodily autonomy to clearly address the sexism women face, remind everyone that women are people, and support our trans siblings, many of whom can get pregnant but are not women.”

TV personality Matt Dillahunty said:

“What a shame that you’ve fallen for the lie and are attacking trans folks instead of the people who are actually taking your rights away. Please look into this and do better.”

Another TV Personality, Dr. Pam Spurr, agreed with Bette:

“Such an awesome post! Yyyeeesssss! Every person in the world owes a woman their life! Not a chest-feeder, not a uterus carrier, not a birthing person but a woman! #WomensRights #LetWomenSpeak”

The Chair of The Republican National Lawyers Association, Harmeet K. Dhillon, re-Tweeted Bette with the caption “Even a broken [clock emoji], implying that people of different opinions can sometimes agree with each other.

Comedians took to Twitter to joke about the confusing rhetoric coming from all sides, possibly in an attempt to buffer the ongoing debate about labels.

“’I’m excited about drinks with some birthing people I went to school with…we are having a proper mensturators night out!’ Let me know when this happens. Right now it’s just a kind nod to inclusion of a tiny minority,” said Shaparak Khorsandi.

Writer Katherine Brodsky tried to placate the naysayers by finding common ground.

“Just Use The Word ‘AND,’ It’s Easy”

“I’m sure she’ll be attacked as transphobic but she’s merely disagreeing with this language which narrows down humans to their bodily functions and is frankly demeaning to all. And you can make room for others without overwriting women. Just use the word AND, it’s easy,” she responded.

In the age of social media, it’s all too easy to piss off a lot of people. But as long as we engage each other in conversation, maybe we can find common ground and understanding.

What do you think?

One Comment

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  1. I seldom ever agree with Bette Midler, but on this issue she is absolutely correct.. We are WOMEN, NOT ‘Birthing People’, NOIT ‘Menstruators”, We are WOMEN, we are MOM, we are SISTER, we are AUNT, we are DA?UGHTER .
    All this trans-inclusive language being used is IDIOTIC ……E-N-O-U-G-H

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