The Cambridge Dictionary has come under fire after updating its definitions of woman and man.
According to the Daily Mail, the dictionary updated its definition of ‘woman’ to include anyone who identifies as female.
A supplementary definition in the online dictionary now states the word can mean ‘an adult who lives and identifies as female though they may have been said to have a different sex at birth’.
‘Mary is a woman who was assigned male at birth,’ and’she was the first trans woman elected to a national office,’ are two examples of usage.
According to the report, the entry for’male’ has also been updated to include people who were born with a ‘different sex’.
‘Man’ is defined as ‘an adult human being’ and ‘the human race,’ but the new supplementary definition adds that it can also mean ‘an adult who lives and identifies as male despite being born with a different sex’.
Users are given examples such as ‘Mark is a trans man (= a man who was thought to be female when he was born)’. and that ‘their doctor advised them to live as men for a while before undergoing surgical transition‘.
Merriam-Webster added a new supplementary definition of ‘female’ earlier this year, which stated ‘having a gender identity that is the opposite of male’.
Toby Young, founder of the Free Speech Union, said the dictionary compilers had gone down a “slippery slope” in response to the new development.
“It’s disheartening to see identity politics creeping into the definition of words,” he said.
“The claim that these supplementary definitions of “woman” and “man” are based on “carefully studied usage patterns” does not appear to be credible. Aside from a few enlightened activists, who defines “woman” and “man” in this manner?
“I suspect this new definition was introduced as a result of political activist lobbying, a dangerous path that no dictionary should take.”
According to Chris McGovern of the Campaign for Real Education, the term “woman” should have come with a disclaimer because the definition is debatable.
“Because it’s a contested definition, the dictionary should say so.
“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 exacerbate the debate and cause additional unhappiness among children who will question their own identities.” The update would lend legitimacy to the new description because dictionary definitions are considered ‘holy writ,’ he added.
But Dr Jane Hamlin, president of transgender and non-binary support group The Beaumont Society, described the addition as ‘good news’.
‘There has been so much misinformation and garbage written about definitions of “man” and “woman” recently, but these definitions are clear, concise, and correct,’ she said. ‘Congratulations to the team at Cambridge Dictionary.’ The dictionary’s main entry for woman remains a ‘adult female human being’.
