Cambridge Dictionary alters the definition of ‘man’ and ‘woman’.
A move aimed at clarifying the identity of transgender people.
According to American media, the world’s most famous English dictionaries are changing the definition of man and woman.
The Cambridge Dictionary has added a new definition to the old definitions of male and female.
The Cambridge dictionary includes the definition of ‘man’ and ‘woman’ as ‘adult male/female’, but now ‘man’ is define as an adult who lives and identifies as a male.
Similarly, ‘woman’ is define as an adult who lives and identifies as a female.
However, long-standing definitions still exist that state that gender and sex identity are always adhered to one another.
Along with the definition, the dictionary also gives two examples to explain the meaning of “male”: “Mark is a transman (= a man who was born female)”. And “his doctor encouraged him to live as a man for a while before undergoing a surgical transition.”
Examples for “woman” reads: “She is the first trans woman elected to national office” and “Mary is a woman who was assigned male at birth”.
The revise definition introduced in October and is now social media users are criticizing. One user commented, “Cambridge Dictionary just changed the definition of “woman”. Remember, if you can control the language, you can control the population.”
Another user writes, “Traitor. Cambridge dictionary is just the latest. If we don’t stop them erasing women, our civilization is NGMI.”
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Another user comments on the move Cambridge Dictionary alters the definition of ‘man’ and ‘woman’ “1984 wasn’t supposed to be a how-to manual.”