Time Magazine’s recent poll sought to determine which cringe-inducing word in our modern lexicon deserved to be cast off and banned in 2015.
The list of candidates included pretty harmless — but almost universally annoying — modern terms like “bae,” “turnt,” “obvi,” and “yaaasssss.”
The word “feminist” was also in the list along with the following justification for its inclusion:
“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.”
“Feminist” took an early lead in the poll, outdistancing second place “bae” by a wide margin. This resulted in a bit of a backlash for Time, with some people offended at the inclusion of the word.
The poll’s writer, Katy Steinmetz, took some heat on Twitter:
@RebeccaSchinsky Please see the blurb for context. The inclusion is responding to trends in the media, not feminism itself.
— Katy Steinmetz (@katysteinmetz) November 12, 2014
Time must have felt the heat as they eventually added this statement to Steinmetz’ piece:
“Editor’s Note:
TIME apologizes for the execution of this poll; the word ‘feminist’ should not have been included in a list of words to ban. While we meant to invite debate about some ways the word was used this year, that nuance was lost, and we regret that its inclusion has become a distraction from the important debate over equality and justice.
–Nancy Gibbs”
What are your thoughts?
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