womanface

English

Etymology

From woman +‎ face, modeled on blackface.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈwʊ.mənˌfeɪs/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʊmənfeɪs
• Hyphenation: wo‧man‧face

Noun

womanface (uncountable)

1. (anti-LGBTQ slur, Internet slang, derogatory, offensive) Women's clothing worn by men or people assigned male at birth, likened to blackface.
   • 2013 October 24, Sol Stein, Living Room, Untreed Reads, →ISBN:

     Her teacher, Mrs. Calcagni, who Shirley characterized to her friends as an “Uncle Tom in womanface,” hated girls who, in her view, “tried to be smarter than everybody,” which meant smarter than the boys, too.

   • 2022 February 22, Gretchen Felker-Martin, Manhunt, Tor Nightfire, →ISBN:

     “Molly's people found, well, I don't know what you'd call it—a hive, let's say, of male prostitutes in womanface. But that's not why I called you here.” She flipped the page and smoothed it down gently. “I want you in Raymond tomorrow […]

   • 2022 October 14, Michelle Uriarau (@womenwillspeak), Twitter:

     Blackface is racist. White people performing racist stereotypes of black or native peoples does nothing to challenge racism; it elevates it.
     Womanface is sexist. Men performing sexist stereotypes of women from any culture does nothing to challenge sexism; it elevates it.

   • [2022 October 17, Jessica Washington, “Transphobes Are Losing Their Minds Over This ULTA Campaign”, in The Root, retrieved 2024-08-25:

     The 15-second video was about as inoffensive as a corporate beauty campaign can get. But transphobes still managed to lose their minds, accusing Mulvaney of doing “womanface.”]

   • 2023 February 10, Elise Avery, quoting Maya Forstater, “Explaining the J.K. Rowling Controversy Surrounding Hogwarts Legacy”, in The Escapist‎^[1]:

     “I view men dressing as women as a form of ‘womanface,’” wrote Forstater. “I don’t think men who think they are women are oppressed, and I do think they can be laughed at.”

   • 2023 June 16, Madeleine Kearns, “Transgenderism Is the New Blackface”, in National Review:

     If blackface is racist, then surely “womanface” is sexist.

Related terms

• transface

See also

• drag