Recently, Merriam-Webster’s
online dictionary made a significant amendment to its lexicon.
The dictionary’s
digital publishers added
a new definition for “female” which reads “having a gender identity that is the opposite of male.”
Similarly, the
secondary definition of “male”
reads “having a gender identity that is the opposite of female.”
The usage of “gender
identity,” is noteworthy.
The primary
definition of "female" also underwent changes.
The definition reads
“Of, relating to, or being the sex that typically has the capacity to bear
young or produce eggs.”
National Review columnist Jack
Wolfsohn noted that Merriam-Webster’s tenth
edition defines the noun female as “of, relating to, or being the sex that
bears young or produces eggs.”
The online edition
adds the phrase, “typically has the capacity”.
If they were
referring to females who cannot reproduce due to infertility issues, the
amendments would have been made much before.
The timing of these
amendments makes it clear that Merriam-Webster has subscribed to
the trans doctrine that gender and sex are mutually
exclusive.
Trans activists claim that gender identity is not based on who you are but on what you claim you are. Hence any gender identity that an individual claims to identify with is legitimate, even if the
person's physical characteristics or capabilities do reflect the gender
the person claims to embody.
Men who simply
consider themselves to be female must be regarded as female. Since they obviously
cannot reproduce, Merriam-Webster broadened their
definition to 'typically has the capacity to bear young or produce eggs.'
The “kids definition” of “female” in the online edition remains unchanged and reads “of, relating to, or being the sex that bears young or lays eggs.” Do not be too surprised if this undergoes changes in the near future.
The definition
entries of female were amended back in 2020
https://twitter.com/juliahb1/status/1302296017476386817
Merriam-Webster also
broadened their meanings of “boy”
and “girl”
“Girl”
has a secondary definition - “a person whose gender identity is female”,
"boy also
was amended to reflect gender identity-based descriptions.
Libs of TikTok posted
a screenshot of a web archive page from July 26, 2021, that showed the
secondary definition was absent.
https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/1549483442370478082
The definition of “woman” remains as is i.e. “an adult female person.”
Back in 2019, Meriam
Webster defined the pronoun “they,”
with one of its definitions as “a single person whose gender identity is nonbinary.” The word ‘they’
was also Meriam Webster’s Word of the Year for 2019, their rationale for
selection makes it amply clear that this is a nod to trans activists.
This has caused complications in the real world.
During a recent
Senate committee hearing on abortion, University of GOP Sen. Josh Hawley of
Missouri Republican asked California Berkeley law professor Khiara Bridges to
explain her usage of the phrase “people with the capacity for pregnancy.”
Hawley asked Bridges
if she was referring to women. Bridges responded said that some women can’t get
pregnant, just as there are some transgender men and nonbinary people who can
get pregnant.
Bridges went on
to accuse
Hawley of transphobia claiming that the Senator “opens up trans people
to violence by not recognizing them.”
Last
May, Democrat Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri, used the phrase “black
birthing people” when testifying in front of the House Oversight Committee.
Even liberals find it impossible to comprehend.
Bette Midler
criticized the recent hesitation to use the word 'women'.
"WOMEN OF THE WORLD! We are being stripped of our rights over our bodies, our lives and even of our name! They don’t call us “women” anymore; they call us “birthing people” or “menstruators”, and even “people with vaginas”! Don’t let them erase you! Every human on earth owes you!"
CNN's Fareed Zakaria wrote a piece in the Washington Post reminding Democrats to focus on real issues instead of obsessing over pronouns. Zakaria was viciously attacked by a social media mob and called transphobic. The WaPo even altered the headline to appease the outraged mob.
The Meriam-Webster dictionary that was founded in 1828 is widely regarded as among the trustworthy sources for definitions. A dictionary must amend its definitions to reflect the evolution of language but there must be strict rules.
e.g. the ‘pundit’, originates from the Hindi word ‘Pandit’, which means a learned individual. This deserves to be included in the Meriam-Webster dictionary since it is part of common parlance in the English-speaking world
Other scenarios for amendments could be new discoveries
or inventions or new theories, all of which are a product of deep
and prolonged study.
What if Meriam-Webster claims
they wanted to be comprehensive and provide all possible definitions of the
words ‘female’, ‘male’, ‘boy’, and ‘girl’?
They should have added footnotes
with details and context that only a small group of people define this term in a certain
way.
But they did no such thing, instead, they altered the main definitions
which is unacceptable.
We are perilous living in times where every
unchallengeable standard, which was once considered sacrosanct, is being
violated without much contemplation. The Meriam-Webster dictionary seems to be the recent casualty in the war
on culture and norms.
The importance of controlling language can hardly be exaggerated. If they can alter or broaden definitions and meanings of words. They can revise culture and so can history to destroy both your past and present.
Also appear on American Thinker
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