Glossary
WBW (Woman Born Woman)
WBW (woman-born-woman, or womyn-born-womyn) is a phrase used to define womanhood by birth assignment in order to exclude trans women, a framing LGBTQ+ advocates reject as transphobic.
WBW stands for 'woman-born-woman,' also written 'womyn-born-womyn.' It is a phrase used in some radical feminist and lesbian separatist spaces to define womanhood strictly by sex assigned at birth, which excludes trans women. The term is most associated with the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival, which from 1991 until it ended in 2015 maintained a womyn-born-womyn policy barring trans women. That policy drew years of protest and became a flashpoint in debates over trans inclusion. LGBTQ+ organizations and much of the broader feminist movement reject the framing as trans-exclusionary and transphobic, affirming that trans women are women. The label is now closely tied to trans-exclusionary radical feminism.