When the Label Walks Ahead - 1/24/2026

 Abstract

Sometimes, one day, a different name is affixed to the same object. While we might be tempted to believe that changing the name would make the world a kinder place, something quietly shifts. When the meaning of the word "man" shifts around the very concrete event of pregnancy, what becomes invisible and who takes on that invisibility is explored through the story of a single label.

Keywords

Pregnancy, Man, Language Gap, Body, What Becomes Invisible

A Bottle on a Shelf and a New Label

There are two similar bottles lined up on a kitchen shelf. One is labeled "Sugar," the other "Salt." Everyone can reach for one without hesitation, even without looking at the contents. One day, someone in the house says, "From today, let's call this bottle sugar. It contains salt, but the owner calls it sugar."

At first, it sounds like a slightly odd joke. If changing the name makes the person feel a little better, then it seems like a good thing. Conversations in the kitchen become more casual, and the word "sugar" now refers to a wider range of foods than before.

But cookbooks still say "one tablespoon of sugar." Even dietary advice at the hospital recommends "limiting your salt intake." Little by little, I find myself pausing in front of shelves and mentally sorting out which "sugar" refers to which. No one complains out loud, but the kitchen becomes quieter and busier than before.

An invisible weight

Language about pregnancy is similar. Until now, the phrase "women get pregnant" has been used as a common, if rather crude, guideline. It lumps together the physical toll and the experiences accumulated throughout history.

Then comes the fact that "some people who identify as men also get pregnant." It's understandable that some people want to call themselves men, and we want to respect their wishes. So, the suggestion comes along: "Men can get pregnant, too."

At this point, the same thing happens as with the bottle on the shelf: the word "man" begins to take on a different meaning. While pregnancy still occurs in a body with a uterus, the "woman" label slowly slips away from the language used to describe its weight.

Invisible Weight = A Body Separated from Its Name Tag

In language, the burden appears to be distributed between "man" and "woman." However, it's still the body with a uterus that suffers the sleepless nights. This fact remains unchanged; the explanatory framework is constantly being rewritten.

Silent Deal

What's happening here isn't a simple matter of someone winning and someone losing. It's something much quieter.

Pregnant women who identify as "man" are able to talk about their pregnancy experiences while still respecting their name tag. This may be a great relief for them. Headlines like "Men Can Get Pregnant, Too" are attractive subjects for newspapers and videos. They're novel and surprising, and they're likely to draw applause.

Meanwhile, the bodily events associated with the word "woman" slowly lose their shape. In statistical tables, the unmodified categories of "male" and "female" create confusion, necessitating alternative wording. In the field, descriptions like "uterus" and "uterus-less" are used covertly, but they don't figure prominently in public discourse.

Thus, a dual world is created: "male" and "female" primarily refer to states of mind in everyday conversation, while other categories are quietly used in hospitals and research settings. The public world becomes softer, the private world more complex. Though both exist within the same society, they become less visible.

What's Left After the Label Walks Away

Go back to the bottles on the shelf. Even if the whole family gets used to the new names, the cookbook description won't change. The doctor's explanation won't change. What changes is the amount of time we spend standing in front of the shelf and the number of small mental sortings we make.

The same goes for language surrounding pregnancy. Adopting the term "men getting pregnant" offers relief for some, but it also relegates the physical experience previously associated with the term "woman" to a different location.

The spread of words = ambiguity in explanations × invisible organization

The people who take on this organization are those who fill out medical questionnaires in medical settings, those who interpret statistics, and above all, those who try to communicate what is happening to their bodies.

When labels take the lead and reality follows, someone has no choice but to silently bear the gap that arises. When faced with something as concrete as pregnancy, assigning new meaning to the word "man" is also calling on society as a whole to take on this quiet responsibility.