WOMYN IN OUTS Womyn's involvement in OUTS is a priority, and we encourage enthuasiastic, active, creative, curious and lovely womyn to join up, meet new people and have their ideas heard! Autonomous (womyn-only) meetings and events are also possible! If you are interested in this option please contact Michelle, your sexuality officer, on 9514-1155. Why do we spell womyn with a y? "In most languages womyn and men, as two sexes, are identified by two very separate words. English is one of the only languages which denotes the term for womyn as a derivative of the word "man". The "wo" in women comes from the Greek or Latin meaning "lesser". "Women - woman" is, by traditional definition, the "wife of man", "woe of man", "female-man" or "womb-man". Many womyn have felt empowered by merely altering the spelling of an existing word to reflect womyn's autonomy. By changing "women" to "WOMYN," we have created a distinct word for our own sex. The word is still pronounced the same, yet has the power to be much more inclusive and empowering for all womyn. Another spelling used widely is "wimmin" which removed the "wo" as it is seen to represent "womb". This spelling is used by people who don't believe that womyn should be defined by their reproductive capability. "Womon" or "womun" are used as the singular." This definition comes from Deakin Uni Womyn's Collective website. http://www.geocities.com/gutsy_grrrls/y.html .
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