Cambridge Dictionary is being criticized on social media for changing the definitions of the words “man” and “woman”.
The definition was altered to include people who identify as a gender other than their biological sex.
The definition of woman, which previously was about the sex a person was born as, now states that a woman is “an adult who lives and identifies as female though they may have been said to have a different sex at birth.”
Similarly, a man is now defined as “an adult who lives and identifies as male though they may have been said to have a different sex at birth.”
This change has elicited criticisms. Many argued that redefining society’s categorization of gender and sex is harmful and inaccurate.
“Cambridge Dictionary just dropped a new definition of ‘woman’,” Christopher Rufo, a fellow at the Manhattan Institute, tweeted.
Rufo also pointed out that the dictionary used the pronoun “they” to describe the subject rather than “she”.
“Notice that the dictionary writers say ‘*they* may have been.’ They couldn’t bring themselves to write ‘she may have been,’ because they know they’re lying. That’s the tell,” he tweeted.
Adam Brooks, a British social commentator, questioned whether women are happy with the change.
He wrote: “Oh wow, the @CambridgeWords dictionary definition of a woman is shocking, how did we get here? Surely women aren’t happy with this?”
Dan McLaughin, a senior writer at National Review, argued the change is Orwellian.
“1984 wasn’t supposed to be a how-to manual,” he tweeted.
