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Fact check: No efforts underway in Atlanta to replace 'women' with 'birthing persons' in public spaces

BrieAnna J. Frank   | Paste BN

The claim: The city of Atlanta is banning the word 'women' and replacing it with 'birthing persons' 

A Feb. 15 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) shows a photograph of a group of people and claims a U.S. city has launched a novel policy on gender references.

"The city of Atlanta is moving along fast!" the post reads. "The word women is banned across all public platforms! Will make birthing persons the word to describe a person with female genitalia!" 

The post was liked more than 700 times in one day. 

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Our rating: False

City officials told Paste BN no such measure has been passed or is being proposed in Atlanta. The city’s official social media pages regularly reference women. 

Official social media accounts for the city regularly use the word 'women'

City officials told Paste BN the claim is baseless. 

“The City Council has not approved or introduced legislation to institute any ban like that,” said Atlanta City Council spokesperson Michael Ulmer.

Zena Lewis, the council’s communications director, said she is not aware of the council “approving, discussing or introducing legislation” related to the claim.

Fact check: Altered image shows supposed news story on pronoun usage

Michael Smith, press secretary in the communications office for Mayor Andre Dickens, also said the claim is false. 

The city council used “women” several times in a Feb. 16 Facebook post that promoted an event for Women’s History Month in March.

There are numerous other instances in which the city's official social media accounts use the word "women." No results for "birthing person" appeared in a Paste BN review of the Twitter accounts for the city and the city council. 

The term "birthing people" has gained traction in recent years, with the White House using it in its 2022 fiscal year budget and Missouri Democratic Rep. Cori Bush using it in a May 2021 speech. The term has triggered controversy as some see the term as erasing women's identity and experiences, as reported by The Atlantic.

Paste BN reached out to the users who shared the claim for comment. 

Lead Stories also debunked the claim.

Our fact-check sources: 

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