The word ‘mistress’ is cancelled as ‘problematic’

The Associated Press has made the decision to remove the world ‘mistress’ from its style guide - because the word has problematic connotations.

The news agency said it ‘implies that the woman was solely responsible for the affair.’

Alternatives that have been recommended by the AP Stylebook are gender-neutral words like ‘companion,’ ‘friend,’ or ‘lover.’

The AP Stylebook is a universal style guide that is used by writers and journalists.

Last year, AP originally recommended removing the term but they reminded the public again of the change, in a tweet that went viral on Wednesday.

In a Twitter thread, AP said: ‘Don’t use the term mistress for a woman who is in a long-term sexual relationship with, and is financially supported by, a man who is married to someone else.’

They continued in another tweet:

The tweet provoked a lot of reaction from people who were not too happy with the change:

Though, there were some people that agreed that the removing the word was necessary:

While others offered up their own other alternatives to ‘mistress’: