The words we use matter. As a recent exposé from The Daily Signal highlights, even Fox News – considered to be a conservative media outlet – has been heavily influenced by a leftist worldview. The tell? Fox regularly uses incorrect pronouns in its reportage, deferring to personal “expression” rather than reflecting biological fact.
While the media establishment embraces progressive terms like “gender-affirming care,” there are certain terms inconvenient to their ideology that they avoid. Here are seven of them.
“Illegal Immigrant”
Back in 2013, the Associated Press (AP) Stylebook came out against using the term “illegal immigrant” to describe someone who immigrated to a country illegally.
“Groomer”
The term “groomer,” which some conservatives have used to describe those who have sexual conversations with young children in schools, is a term that is not in the good graces of the mainstream media.
According to the AP Stylebook’s “Transgender Coverage Topical Guide,”
Generally avoid the often false terms groom or groomer, which some people use to stoke fears about LGBTQ+ people’s interactions with children, or education about LGBTQ+ people, comparing their actions to those of child molesters.
“Mutilation”
When referring to the genital mutilation involved in so-called “trans medicine,” the AP Stylebook is against the use of the (accurate) word “mutilation.” “Avoid the word mutilation, a politicized and subjective term often used to mischaracterize surgery.”
“Pro-Abortion”
As of 2022, the AP Stylebook instructs that the use of the term “pro-abortion” should be avoided, and the modifier “abortion-rights” favored instead (taking for granted that there is such a thing as a “right” to abortion).
“Transgenderism”
The AP Stylebook does not allow the use of the term “transgenderism,” as it “frames transgender identity as an ideology.”
“Abortionist”
The AP Stylebook’s 2022 update also instructs journalists to avoid using the term “abortionist” to describe those who kill children by abortion. The word “connotes a person who performs clandestine abortions,” AP claims.
“Transsexual”
This term is “outdated” according to the AP Stylebook, but can be used if “a source specifically asks to be identified as such.”
