The Scripps National Spelling Bee’s annual list of study words for third graders drew the ire of conservatives fuming over its embrace of the feminist variation for “women.”
The 2024-25 study list posted on school district websites includes the term “womyn” as an approved option for spelling “women” that third graders who want to compete in the national spelling competition can use, Fox News Digital reported.
While the spelling list noted that “women” is the “preferred spelling,” allowing the option for third-grade students to spell “womyn” in the competition lit up MAGA world.
“You have to be kidding,” Turning Point USA wrote in a social media post.
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“No. Freaking. Way,” Far-right conspiracy theorist webcaster Alex Jones told his followers on X.
“Question for the National Spelling Bee: What is a womyn? Kristen Waggoner, the president of the Alliance Defending Freedom, asked her X followers.
X user Dean Cramer opined that the change comes “because ‘womyn’ doesn’t have ‘men’ in the word.”
“Changing the spelling of ‘women’ to ‘womyn’ in a spelling bee? This isn’t progress, it’s ideological nonsense,” The Calvin Report wrote. “Leave language and kids out of this agenda.”
A Scripps spokesperson defended the change, telling Fox News Digital in a statement that the spelling came from the Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary, which the spokesperson added was “the final authority and sole source for the spelling of all words offered in competition.”
"All of the words used in the Scripps National Spelling Bee program are pulled from our official dictionary, Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary,” the statement to the network said. “During competition, our policy is to accept any correct spelling listed in our official dictionary that isn’t marked archaic or obsolete. The alternate spelling ‘womyn’ is therefore included on our study list because it is listed as an alternate spelling for 'women' in Merriam-Webster.”
The spelling competition will celebrate its 100th anniversary when the 2025 National Finals are held in May, according to Fox News Digital.