The word ‘mistress’ is CANCELED: AP Stylebook bans use of the term because it ‘implies the woman is solely responsible for the affair’
- AP Stylebook strikes the term ‘mistress’ since it ‘implies woman is solely at fault’
- ‘Mistress’ is problematic because there is no male equivalent, according to AP
- Instead, AP recommends using the term ‘companion,’ ‘friend,’ or ‘lover’
- Change was ridiculed online as Twitter users mocked AP for the change
- ‘The preferred gender-neutral phrasing is “Sugar Baby”,’ joked one Twitter user
- Others recommended using the terms ‘paramour’, ‘adulterer,’ or ‘homewrecker’
- Last year, AP’s Stylebook barred using words like ‘crazy,’ ‘nuts,’ or ‘deranged’
The Associated Press is being ridiculed online after its style guide eliminated the term ‘mistress’ from the lexicon because the word ‘implies that the woman was solely responsible for the affair.’
Instead, the AP Stylebook, used by journalists and writers as sort of a universal guideline, recommends that the term be replaced by gender-neutral words like ‘companion,’ ‘friend,’ or ‘lover.’
The AP initially recommended the elimination of the term ‘mistress’ last year, but a tweet reminding the public of the change went viral on Wednesday.
‘Don’t use the term mistress for a woman who is in a long-term sexual relationship with, and is financially supported by, a man who is married to someone else,’ the AP tweeted.
The Associated Press is being ridiculed online after its style guide eliminated the term ‘mistress’ from the lexicon because the word ‘implies that the woman was solely responsible for the affair.’
The AP initially recommended the elimination of the term ‘mistress’ last year, but a tweet reminding the public of the change went viral on Wednesday
‘Instead, use an alternative like companion, friend or lover on first reference and provide additional details later.’
In a follow-up tweet, the agency wrote: ‘We understand it’s problematic that the alternative terms fall short.
‘But we felt that was better than having one word for a woman and none for the man, and implying that the woman was solely responsible for the affair.’
On Twitter, social media users mocked the AP. Mark Harris of New York City snickered: ‘Yeah, definitely use “friend,” the term the husband uses to explain himself. That’s much less sexist.’
Christian Schneider thinks that a synonym for mistress should be ‘homewrecker.’
Joe Cunningham tweeted: ‘The preferred gender-neutral phrasing is “Sugar Baby”.’
‘The word for the man is “adulterer”,’ wrote one Twitter user.
Another Twitter user suggested ‘mister-ess’ as an alternative.
Matt Comer thinks the AP should just adopt the term ‘paramour,’ which is ‘just waiting to be plucked from the dictionary.’
One Twitter user claimed to be cheated on by her husband. She said dropping the term ‘mistress’ absolves the other woman of her responsibility.
‘For some of us betrayed spouses, the affair partner knew we existed and had met us and our kids,’ wrote a woman who goes by the Twitter handle Jess.
‘Although I agree it takes two, she knew what she was doing too.
‘Plus she was also married and was not financially taken care of by my husband because she had her own job.’
Katherine Neukomm tweeted: ‘Rather than diluting words about love and friendship, which invoke none of the scalding vitriol mistresses so often merit, perhaps an equivalent term for a man should be devised.’
Another Twitter user, Carl Feher, commented: ‘Congratulations, you made a non-problem into one.’
One Twitter user suggested that AP simply adopt ‘adulterer’ or ‘cheat’ as the male equivalent to ‘mistress.’
Another Twitter user hilariously offered up terms like ‘gigolo,’ ‘kept man,’ ‘fancy man,’ ‘toy boy,’ or ‘cabana boy.’
Joe Cunningham tweeted: ‘The preferred gender-neutral phrasing is “Sugar Baby”.’
‘The word for the man is “adulterer”,’ wrote one Twitter user.
Another Twitter user hilariously offered up terms like ‘gigolo,’ ‘kept man,’ ‘fancy man,’ ‘toy boy,’ or ‘cabana boy.’
Twitter user Stephanie Ireland opined: ‘The married man has a name. Adulterer, cheater, scumbag.’
Katherine Neukomm tweeted: ‘Rather than diluting words about love and friendship, which invoke none of the scalding vitriol mistresses so often merit, perhaps an equivalent term for a man should be devised.’
One Twitter user suggested that AP simply adopt ‘adulterer’ or ‘cheat’ as the male equivalent to ‘mistress.’
Another Twitter user, Carl Feher, commented: ‘Congratulations, you made a non-problem into one.’
Another Twitter user suggested ‘mister-ess’ as an alternative.
One Twitter user claimed to be cheated on by her husband. She said dropping the term ‘mistress’ absolves the other woman of her responsibility.
Twitter user Stephanie Ireland opined: ‘The married man has a name. Adulterer, cheater, scumbag.’
The AP style book has sought to introduce changes in response to the current trends.
In November, it removed the terms ‘insane,’ ‘crazy’, ‘nuts,’ and ‘deranged’ – unless the terms were used in quotes.
‘Avoid using mental health terms to describe unrelated issues,’ according to the AP.
‘Don’t say that an awards show, for example, was schizophrenic.’
In July, AP altered its style to capitalize the ‘b’ in ‘Black’ when referencing people of color.
The change was made during the massive, nationwide protests in the wake of the May police-involved killing of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, in Minneapolis.
Controversially, the term ‘white’ when referring to Caucasians will remain lower-case.
‘AP’s style is now to capitalize Black in a racial, ethnic or cultural sense, conveying an essential and shared sense of history, identity and community among people who identify as Black, including those in the African diaspora and within Africa,’ the agency announced at the time.
‘The lowercase black is a color, not a person.
‘AP style will continue to lowercase the term white in racial, ethnic and cultural senses.’
For those with conservative political leanings, the changes are simply confirmation of a liberal bias.
In years past, the AP Stylebook has urged authors to avoid the term ‘pro-life’ and instead use ‘anti-abortion.’
It also recommends writers employ the terms ‘militant’ or ‘attacker’ instead of words like ‘terrorists.’
The terms ‘illegal immigrant’ and ‘undocumented’ are not used by AP.
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