The Cambridge Dictionary came under widespread criticism after it added an additional definition of "woman" which includes transgender individuals. It comes months after Merriam-Webster's publisher added a secondary definition of "female" defining it as "having a gender identity that is the opposite of male."
Dictionary Keeps Original Definition Too
Even though it is unclear when the secondary description of the meaning of woman was added by the dictionary, it is visible on its website.
"An adult who lives and identifies as female though they may have been said to have a different sex at birth," read the secondary description. It then went onto describe how the word can be used in sentences, in reference to transgenders.
"She was the first trans woman elected to a national office," read one. "Mary is a woman who was assigned male at birth," was another. The primary definition of woman on the website states, "an adult female human being."
Social Media Reacts
Sharing the screenshot of the website Megyn Kelly tweeted, "They won't stop until we don't remember what real women are anymore." The tweet came in response to Christopher Rufo's tweet in which he shared the screenshot carrying the additional definition. "Cambridge Dictionary just dropped a new definition of "woman," read the tweet.
The addition of the new meaning left a lot of social media users enraged. "Women should loathe trans activists for their vicious attempts to completely erase us. Issues REAL women face are thrown under the rug so that the cries of men playing dress up can be heard," wrote author Ashley St. Clair.
"I refuse to play along with this delusion. Airbrushed makeup, heels, fake breasts and an exaggerated valley girl voice impersonation does not make you a woman. The fact some people think it does is insulting. Stop erasing women," tweeted another user.
"Cambridge Dictionary have changed their definition of "woman" to include men who call themselves women. Soon people will be saying "this has always been the definition of a woman". That is how this works. Very 1984-esque," read a tweet.
"It's mad how people think they can just change dictionary definitions to suit an unpopular ideology. Women have not been asked if they're okay with being erased like this. Anyway. Cambridge Dictionary now says the word "WOMAN" means "men" & that the word "Female" is offensive," expressed a user.
