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A feminist has revealed that she refuses to use the ‘sexist’ word ‘husband’ after marrying her boyfriend, explaining that it connotes to ‘master and controller of the house.’
Audra Fitzgerald, 26, from New York, decided instead to call her other half, Andrew, 37, her ‘wer,’ which is the old English word for ‘man.’
Audra, who works in digital operations but has a background in linguistics, explained that the word ‘spouse’ sounded too ‘generic’ for her; and while she liked the term ‘partner,’ she felt it wasn’t specific enough.
She thought there were no other options until she stumbled upon the etymology of the word wife – which came from the old English word for woman – ‘wif.’ She soon discovered the male equivalent of ‘wif’ – which is ‘wer’ – and decided it was the perfect term to describe her husband.
A feminist has revealed that she refuses to use the ‘sexist’ word ‘husband’ after marrying her boyfriend, explaining that it connotes to ‘master and controller of the house’
Audra Fitzgerald, 26, from New York, decided instead to call her other half, Andrew, 37, her ‘wer,’ which is the old English word for ‘man’
She opened up about her decision to go against the grain in a video posted to TikTok, where it quickly went viral – gaining more than one million views and launching a major debate between users.
Audra, who works in digital operations but has a background in linguistics, explained that the word ‘spouse’ sounded too ‘generic’ for her; and while she liked the term ‘partner,’ she felt it wasn’t specific enough
Audra hopes that in speaking out about it, she can ‘make people think’ and ‘illustrate that language is used as a political tool to oppress women.’
‘I don’t like the word husband because it is rooted in sexism, it means master and controller of the house,’ she explained to South West News Service recently.
‘I wanted to make a point and make people think, and illustrate that language is used as a political tool to oppress women.’
In the TikTok, Audra explained that ‘hus’ translates to ‘house’ in Latin and ‘band’ comes from the Latin word ‘bondi,’ which means ‘occupier and tiller of the soil.’
‘It basically just means “master of the house,” “controller of the house,”‘ she added in the clip.
Audra said she received a ‘crazy amount of backlash’ on her video, but that it was mostly from ‘homophobic and misogynic’ men.
‘People took it very seriously,’ she told SWNS. ‘It was mainly men in the comments – mansplaining how language works.
She then stumbled upon the etymology of the word wife – which came from the old English word for woman – ‘wif.’ She soon discovered the male equivalent of ‘wif’ – which is ‘wer’
She opened up about her decision to go against the grain in a video posted to TikTok, which went viral – gaining more than one million views and launching a major debate between users
In the TikTok, Audra explained that ‘hus’ translates to ‘house’ in Latin and ‘band’ comes from the Latin word ‘bondi,’ which means ‘occupier and tiller of the soil’
‘They were homophobic and misogynistic and called my husband a “wife.”‘
Audra added that her wer, Andrew, whom she dated for eight years before they tied the knot this month, doesn’t care what she calls him and is supportive of her new nickname for him.
And ‘husband’ is not the only term that Audra feels strongly against – in fact, there are quite a few words that make her uncomfortable.
Another term that the 26-yer-old refuses to use is ‘b***h,’ as she explained it used to be a neutral female word that has now evolved to be an insult against women.
She also said she hates the word ‘p****y’ when it’s used as an insult, and said phrases like ‘grow a pair,’ ‘man up,’ and ‘sissy’ are deeply damaging to men.
Audra pointed out that there is a double standard between feminine equivalents of masculine words – for example, ‘sissy’ means wimp whereas ‘buddy’ means good friend.
She added that many words are naturally masculine – like ‘kingdom’ instead of ‘queendom,’ and ‘freshmen’ instead of ‘freshwomen’ – which she feels is not fair.
Audra hopes that in speaking out about it, she can ‘make people think’ and ‘illustrate that language is used as a political tool to oppress women’
Many people flooded the comment section with their thoughts on the matter. And while some were supportive, many viewers felt Audra was being ‘unnecessarily extra’ and ‘easily offended’
‘I choose whether to use words or not based on whether they are doing more damage to society,’ she said.
‘While “Husband” isn’t actually doing more damage to society, I want people to be aware of the patriarchal routes.’
Many people flooded the comment section of Audra’s video with their thoughts on the matter.
And while some were supportive, many viewers felt Audra was being ‘unnecessarily extra’ and ‘easily offended.’
One person pointed out, ‘Languages change over time. If you substitute words due to your dislike of their origin, what you’re trying to communicate will be incomprehensible.’
‘People will always find something to be offended by,’ said someone else, while another asked, ‘Is it really that deep though?’
‘Some people are so unnecessarily extra,’ read fourth comment. A different person wrote, ‘Seems like were would be completely useless because you would always have to explain its a synonym for husband in which case just use the word husband.’