Twitch Apologizes For Using 'Womxn' In Tweet Celebrating Women's History Month

Twitch has responded to the criticisms that erupted after the streaming service used the word "womxn." While the service announced that it would be using the word "woman" moving forward, the discussions about gender-neutral neologisms spread further, with users also debating whether the worlds "folx" and "latinx" are also appropriate.

We want to assure you that we have, and will continue to, work with the LGBTQIA+ community. We're still learning. Our good intentions don't always equate to positive impact, but we're committed to growing from these experiences, doing better, and ensuring we're inclusive to all.

— Twitch (@Twitch) March 2, 2021

On Monday, streaming service Twitch presented its program for celebrating the Woman's History Month, choosing to word it "Womxn's History Month" in an attempt to use more gender-neutral language. However, the attempt backfired severely as Twitch received heavy criticism on social media, with many Twitter users mentioning that the word "womxn" implied a difference between cis and trans women.

The term "womxn" was first used after 2010 by intersectional feminists as an alternative to "women," explicitly to include transgender women and nonbinary people. As "womxn" reached top trending topics on Twitter March 1st following Twitch's tweet, transgender users wrote that the word made them feel unwelcome and excluded, advising them to use "women" instead.

Hi! Please stop using “womxn” to be “inclusive” of trans women. It makes us feel unwelcome, by implying we’re not “women” and you need to make up a new word to include us and cis women.
There’s a perfectly good word that includes trans and cis women. It’s just “women.” Thanks.

— Ada Worcester (@pikhq) March 1, 2021

You did NOT just use womxn

— Nightcat (@Nightcaaat) March 1, 2021

Unironically I would rather be called a tranny than a "womxn", it'd at least be less patronizing.

— 🏳️‍⚧️ L̷̠̑̽il̷i̸t̷͠h̷ L̴͂̂o̷v̶̑e̵t̷͐t̷͌ 🏳️‍⚧️ (@LilithLovett) March 2, 2021

The debate later expanded to include discussions of whether words "latinx," used as a gender-neutral way to refer to Latin-American people, and "folx.," a word used specifically to signal the inclusion of marginalized groups, should continue to be used.

“Womxn”
“Folx”
Who is the X for exactly, who is it supposed to help?

— Natalie Wynn (@ContraPoints) March 2, 2021

Latinx is not a thing.

Womxn is not a thing.

Just stop. This shit is exhausting.

— Brad Polumbo 🇺🇸⚽️ 🏳️‍🌈 (@brad_polumbo) March 2, 2021

Following the criticism, Twitch deleted its original tweet and altered its website page for Women's History Month.