The Lancet dehumanized the bodies of half the population.
The lead editor of the British medical journal The Lancet has issued an apology following outrage over a recent journal cover that labeled women as “bodies with vaginas.”
For its Sept. 25 edition, the weekly peer-reviewed journal featured a quote on the front cover from a perspective piece that said, “the anatomy and physiology of bodies with vaginas have been neglected.”
The cover quote garnered outrage from many who, among other objections, viewed the choice of words as erasing women and bowing to transgender ideology.
Some academics have criticized the Lancet for posting the quote on the front page of the most recent edition of the journal. These critics have loudly complained that it was “insulting and abusive,” while others called it a “misguided pursuit of woke points.”
Critics have gone so far as to accuse the Lancet of “reinforcing patriarchal ideals” and promoting a misogynistic view with their “woke” phrase for women.
Dr. Madeleine Ní Dhálaigh, a general practitioner, turned to Twitter to share her outrage, writing:
“Naming women as ‘bodies with vaginas’ is a new low, all in the misguided pursuit of woke points. You can be inclusive without being insulting and abusive. How dare you dehumanize us with a statement like this?”
Although some people were offended by The Lancet, others applauded its willingness to include transgender women in their journal while still being inclusive of menopausal women who have vaginas but no longer menstruate.
The Lancet has defended its decision to publish the quote, saying that it was done so in order to be more inclusive of all genders.
“Historically, the anatomy and physiology of bodies with vaginas have been neglected,” said Dr. Alexandra Gottlieb, an editor at The Lancet for over 40 years. “We wanted to make sure that everyone was included in our article.”
Dr. Gottlieb has also stated that she is “deeply offended” by people who are accusing them of sexism, saying that they wanted to include all genders and people with vaginas.
“I am deeply offended by those who claim that we were promoting ‘sexism,’” Dr. Gottlieb said in an article published on The Lancet’s website. “The whole point was to do exactly the opposite.”
Claire Heuchan, a black feminist writer, also took to social media to criticize The Lancet cover quote, labeling it sexist and hypocritical. She contends that The Lancet has not referred to “bodies with penises.”
“This framing makes it sound like a coincidence that ‘bodies with vaginas’ have been neglected by medicine as if it were not the product of a discrimination and oppression specific to the female sex,” tweeted Heuchan. “Medical misogyny exists – and refusing to acknowledge women perpetuates it.”
With the amount of backlash, they’re getting, Richard Horton, editor-in-chief at The Lancet, issued a formal apology, saying that “we have conveyed the impression that we have dehumanized and marginalized women.”
“I apologize to our readers who were offended by the cover quote and the use of those same words in the review,” stated Horton. “At the same time, I want to emphasize that transgender health is an important dimension of modern health care, but one that remains neglected.”
Source: AWM
