Oxford Dictionaries amends ‘sexist’ definitions of the word ‘woman’ – By Aaron Walawalkar (The Guardian) / Nov 7 2020
Publisher labels ‘bitch’ as offensive but fails to satisfy some equality campaigners
Oxford University Press has updated its dictionaries’ definitions of the word “woman” following an extensive review triggered by equality campaigners.
Among the updates to Oxford Dictionaries’ definitions is the acknowledgement that a woman can be “a person’s wife, girlfriend, or female lover”, rather than only a man’s.
The entry for “man” has also been amended to include the same gender-neutral terminology, while many other terms relating to sexual attractiveness and activity have been revised.
Labels have been applied to terms identified as “derogatory”, “offensive” or “dated”, such as the word “bitch” and “bint”, which are listed as synonyms for the word woman.
An OUP spokeswoman said the changes were made after its dictionary compilers undertook an “extensive review” of entries “for ‘woman’ and many other related terms”.
Continue > https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/nov/07/oxford-university-press-updates-definitions-word-woman
