Conservatives on social media are criticizing Cambridge Dictionary for changing the definitions of the words “man” and “woman” to include people who identify as a gender other than their biological sex.
The dictionary now defines “woman” as “an adult who lives and identifies as female even though they may have been said to have had a different sex at birth,” as opposed to the previous definition of woman, which represented the long-standing perspective on sex.
A man is now described as “an adult who lives and identifies as male even though they may have been said to have a different sex at birth” in a similar manner.
Examples of usage include ‘Mary is a woman who was assigned male at birth’ and ‘she was the first trans woman elected to a national office’.
According to Daily Mail, the he entry for ‘male’ has also been updated to include individuals who had a ‘different sex at birth’.
Reacting to the new development, Free Speech Union founder Toby Young said the dictionary compilers had gone down a ‘slippery slope’.
“It’s disappointing to see identity politics creeping into the way a dictionary defines words,’ he said.
“The claim that these supplementary definitions of “woman” and “man” are based on “carefully studied usage patterns” doesn’t seem plausible. Who, apart from a few woke activists, define “woman” and “man” this way?
“I suspect this new definition has been introduced as a result of lobbying by political activists, a slippery slope that no dictionary should go down.”
Chris McGovern of the Campaign for Real Education said the designation for ‘woman’ should have come with a warning as the definition is disputed.
“Since it’s a contested definition, the dictionary should state that it’s a contested definition.
“The danger is it will give a green light to what’s going on in primary schools where parents are already worried that children are becoming confused from an early age.
“This will fuel the debate and cause further unhappiness among children who will question their own identities.’ The update would give the new description legitimacy as dictionary definitions are regarded as ‘holy writ’, he added.
Taking a contrary stand, president of transgender and non-binary support group The Beaumont Society, Dr Jane Hamlin, described the addition as ‘good news’.
She said: ‘There has been so much disinformation and rubbish written about definitions of “man” and “woman” lately but these definitions are clear, concise and correct. Congratulations to Cambridge Dictionary team.’ The dictionary’s main entry for woman remains an ‘adult female human being’.
