A New England town is facing heavy backlash after putting out a poster for an upcoming sporting event for ‘girlx.’
The City of Cambridge, Massachusetts, posted a flier last week for their ‘Cambridge Sports Night for Girlx,’ which includes anyone who identifies ‘as a girl or with girlhood’ and is in kindergarten through fifth grade.
The tweet immediately caught the attention and fury of some who cried out against the term and mocked the city for their ‘woke‘ invitations and policies.
‘Count the wayx this can go wrong,’ joked one person who quoted the city’s tweet.
This is the flier for the event that sparked backlash online
The post was immediately mocked by Twitter users who called it ‘absurd’ and ‘silly’
A flier states the January 18 event will be for ‘families with girlx (anyone who identifies as a girl or with girlhood)’ and will give the group the opportunity to ‘explore new sports, learn about existing teams, and enjoy prizes, pizza, games, and hands-on demonstrations,’ according to the city.
The term in question is meant to be more inclusive and follows the idea of other hot-button words like ‘Latinx’ and ‘womxn.’
The flier points out that ‘girlx’ who participate in sports at a young age tend to have higher self-esteem, get better grades at school, develop critical thinking skills, and have a larger friend circle.
The event will offer ‘girlx’ the opportunity to try sports like basketball, cheer, football, lacrosse, and soccer, among others.
Some on the social media app pointed out how they believe the flier is stark in comparison to some of the famous institutions the city houses.
Cambridge is home to prestigious universities Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
The event is sponsored by the Cambridge Commission on the Status of Women, the Cambridge Office of the Mayor, and Cambridge Department of Human Services Programs
The event will offer ‘girlx’ the opportunity to try sports like basketball, cheer, football, lacrosse, and soccer, among others
The tweet immediately caught the attention and fury of some who cried out against the term and mocked the city for their ‘woke’ invitations and policies
Cambridge is home to two of the most prestigious schools in the country, Harvard University (left) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (right)
The city’s original tweet did not go over well on the platform.
‘Count the wayx this can go wrong,’ joked one person on the social media app.
‘WTF is this? What are girlx?’ wrote one Twitter user.
‘”Girlx”… the absurdity is the point,’ said another.
‘Who in the management team came up with this nonsensical excuse for a label ? It’s either for GIRLS or for GIRLS & BOYS… there is no such sex class as Girlx…’ wrote one person.
‘”Girlx” instead of “girls”, because “Latinx” worked so well,’ said one Twitter user.
One Twitter user asked ‘What are girlx?’ in a tweet
Another person critiqued the term, calling it ‘nonsensical’
One user said the term will go over well the same way ‘Latinx’ did
The backlash has been consistent since the tweet was first posted last week
‘Latinx’ is another example of inclusive language that has been critiqued and ridiculed ruthlessly online in recent years.
Last week, newly elected Arkansas Governor and former White House press aide Sarah Huckabee-Sanders made headlines for banning the term in official government documents.
The governor called the term ‘ethnically insensitive and pejorative language has no place in official government documents or government employee titles.’
All state and local agencies now have 60 days to replace ‘Latinx’ with ‘Hispanic,’ ‘Hispanics,’ ‘Latino,’ ‘Latinos,’ ‘Latina,’ or ‘Latinas.’
Newly elected Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders is one politician against the term ‘Latinx’
Sanders, seen here with her family on the day she was inaugurated, recently banned the use of the term ‘Latinx’ on government documents
This isn’t the first time the City of Cambridge has seen backlash for their ‘inclusive’ ways, however.
In 2021, the city hosted a ‘Let Trans Athletes Play’ event that caught the eyes of community members and those nationwide.
‘This event is a space for #LGBTQ+ youth to play sports and games with their friends and to protest anti-trans bills that are being introduced across the country,’ said Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui in a July 2021 tweet.
The post was called out by opponents who stated their belief that sports teams should be distinguished based purely on biological sex and nothing else.
DailyMail.com reached out to officials within Cambridge City’s Hall for a statement on the backlash but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
In 2021, Cambridge Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui and the city held a ‘Let Trans Athletes Play’ event