The Cambridge Dictionary has updated its definition of 'woman' and 'man' to include people who identify as a gender other than their biological sex.
The definition of 'Man' now includes "an adult who lives and identifies as a male though they may have been said to have a different sex at birth."
And the updated definition of 'Woman' reads "an adult who lives and identifies as female though they may have been said to have a different sex at birth."
However, the longstanding definitions are still there which said that sex and gender identity always adhered to one another.
Along with the definition, the dictionary also gave two examples to explain the meaning of "man": "It also gives two examples: "Mark is a trans man (= a man who was said to be female when they were born)" and "their doctor encouraged them to live as a man for a while before undergoing surgical transition".
For "Woman" the examples read: "She was the first trans woman elected to a national office" and "Mary is a woman who was assigned male at birth".
A spokesperson for the Cambridge Dictionary told the Telegraph, "Our editors made this addition to the entry for woman in October. They carefully studied usage patterns of the word woman and concluded that this definition is one that learners of English should be aware of to support their understanding of how the language is used. The first definition at the entry for woman remains unchanged and continues to be 'an adult female human being'".
The revised definitions were made in October and are now being criticized on social media. A user commented, "The Cambridge Dictionary just changed the definition of "woman." Remember, if you can control the language, you can control the population."
Another user wrote, "F-ing traitors to the truth. Cambridge Dictionary is only the latest. If we don't stop them from erasing women our civilization is ngmi."
"1984 wasn't supposed to be a how-to manual," the third commented.
