Controversy of the Day: Time Wants to Ban the Word ‘Feminist’ in 2015
Yasssss, you read that right. Along with a number of justifiably obnoxious, overused words and phrases like "literally," "bae," and "turnt," Time's fourth annual poll titled "Which Word Should Be Banned in 2015?" also includes the word "feminist."
The post clarifies the nomination as follows:
"You have nothing against feminism itself, but when did it become a thing that every celebrity had to state their position on whether this word applies to them, like some politician declaring a party? Let's stick to the issues and quit throwing this label around like ticker tape at a Susan B. Anthony parade."
The poll, while intended to be a lighthearted piece, has resulted in a bit of controversy online over that words' inclusion.
TIME thinks the word "feminist" should be banned? We think reductive attacks on feminism should be banned. #justsayin http://t.co/3pJMAs4SyD
— Planned Parenthood (@PPact) November 12, 2014Washington Post writer Alyssa Rosenberg has a lengthy piece explaining why she thinks "Suggesting banning it is stupid on linguistic grounds, not just political ones."
Samantha Allen from the The Daily Beast goes even further to dub the poll both "sexist" and "racist."
And, as The Daily Dot points out, some users on 4Chan's /b/ board, who are infamous for regularly gaming year-end polls on Time, are using the site to rally votes to ban "feminist." 9gag is reportedly also trolling the poll.
And it seems to be working.
As of Thursday afternoon, "feminist" is winning with 50% of the votes, with "bae" in a distant second.
"OMG," "YOLO," and "twerk" were the previous winners.
I can't even with this.