Introduction
WDI USA is the United States chapter of Women’s Declaration International, a global volunteer organization that works to advance the Declaration on Women’s Sex-Based Rights (the Declaration) in law and throughout society.
At WDI USA, our commitment to reality-based language sets us apart from other organizations that work on women’s issues. For this reason, we have created this style manual outlining our principles for writing, reporting, and testifying on issues that primarily affect women as a sex class, such as “gender identity”, abortion rights, sexual abuse, and same-sex attraction. These issues, though they may also affect some men, have much more profound implications for women and girls. In many ways, they have the potential to threaten our very existence in law, our safety, and our participation in civic and social life.
The language that is used in discourse around the idea of “gender identity” is of utmost importance in conveying our message clearly. If we allow any dilution of the language we use to refer to our sexed bodies, or to describe our realities in them, we compromise not only our integrity, but the basis on which women have won our sex-based rights.
The physical and legal human rights of women and girls are at stake, and must take precedence over any undefinable ideas or immeasurable feelings that may conflict with them. WDI USA holds this line firmly, and will not concede to any clouding of the meaning of our words. We insist on communicating the exact truth, unapologetically, as a necessary barrier between women and girls and those who would erase us from linguistic and legal existence. Please use this manual to stand with us in factual reality whenever writing or speaking.
