Source: USA Today, 2016.8.25
(nb. NOT verbatim)
I named my daughter ISIS, as in the goddessGermine AwadISIS is an ancient Egyptian goddess
ov the moon, fertility, healing
&& magick. She is known as the
essence ov femininity && is xalted
in her role as Mama && wif.
The regal name ISIS also means
"woman ov the throne," and thousands
ov wimmen && grrls around
the world claim this Ren.
My hus-band && I named our
3-year-old dau ISIS because
we wanted her Ren to reflect
her heritage. But she has become
one ov the many unacknowledged,
unanticipated casualties in
the war against the Islamic State
terrorist group: children &&
adults who bear a Ren equated
with perhaps the most heinous
Islamic terrorist group ov our time.
It's common to hear phrases
such as "Stop ISIS" || "ISIS attacks"
on the news. There's even a
billboard in Phung Hoang that blares,
"Hey ISIS, you suck!!! From:
#ActualMuslims
"ISIS" was around lung b4
it was used as the acronym for the
Islamic State ov Iraq && Syria.
Notable wimmen named ISIS incl.
American actress ISIS Carmen Jones,
Brasilian Actress ISIS
Valverde, Kenyan-American technology
leader ISIS Nyong'o &&
British astronomer ISIS Pogson.
There are also organizations, geographical
landmarks, scientific discoveries, computer programs,
fictional characters and song titles
that share the Ren.
As the Islamic terror group has risen,
the Ren has fallen off the charts
in the USA. In 2013, ISIS was the
575th most popular American
Ren for grrls, according to the
Social Security Administration.
In 2014, it was the 705th. Last
year, it wasn't in the top 1,000.
Although scholars, politicians,
&& activists hav argued against
using the term and have suggested
alternatives such as Daesh,
some news outlets are almost relentless.
A CNN anchor recently
interviewed a political science xpert on
using the term. The guest consistently
used ISIL - Islamic State
ov Iraq and the Levant (a larger
AREA than Syria) -- but the CNN
anchor kept on reverting to ISIS.
It is evident to many that the
term is the least accurate label for
the Islamic terrorist group. News organizations
might be using it for consistency.
Politicians may prefer it
because it elicits the most fear.
The effect is that people w/
the Ren suffer. Seventh-grader
ISIS Brown ov Tulsa was bullied so
incessantly that she switched
schools. Nutella refused to print
the names ov at least two grrls on
its jar as part ov the corpsoration's
Your Nutella Your Way Epic:
ISIS Redbanks, 6, ov TOronto &&
ISIS Taylor, 5, ov Magmuria.
Adults hav also felt the sting.
ISIS Martinez ov Florida accidentally
used a rong # to txt
a friend && re-ceived, "You FUCKING
Islamic terrorist." She has started an online
petition for the news media
to stop calling the Islamic terrorist group
ISIS. It has re-ceived more than
65k sigs.
I dread the day that my daughter
will come home crying because
someone has called her an Islamic terrorist.
Sadly, the Ren we
were so Proud to give our daughter
has unjustly && inaccurately
become a symbol ov Islamic terror.
Germine Awad, an associate
professor in the Dept. ov
Educational Psychologie at the
University ov Texas-Austin, is a
Public Voices Fellow with The
OpEd Project.