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. 

National Review columnist Jack Wolfensohn 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 sense than 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” section 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

The Merriam-Webster dictionary had changed its definition of "female" to "having a gender identity that is the opposite of male". So how you feel inside matters more than the body you have. They are literally erasing women from existence. Enough is enough. https://t.co/KDcVxSoId6

— Julia Hartley-Brewer (@JuliaHB1) September 5, 2020

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.

Merriam-Webster also changed the definition of the word girl pic.twitter.com/5wkPcD9yJA

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) July 19, 2022

The definition of “woman” remains as is i.e., “an adult female person.”

Back in 2019, Merriam-Webster defined the pronoun “they,” with one of its definitions as “a single person whose gender identity is nonbinary.” The word ‘they’ was also Merriam-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, Sen. Josh Hawley, a 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!

— bettemidler (@BetteMidler) July 4, 2022

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 Merriam-Webster's dictionary, which was founded in 1828, is widely regarded as among the trustworthy sources for dictionary definitions. A dictionary must amend its definitions to reflect the evolution of language, but there must be strict rules.

For example, the word pundit originates from the Hindi word Pandit, which means a learned individual.  This deserves to be included in the Merriam-Webster's 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 Merriam-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 those words in a certain way.

But they did no such thing. Instead, they altered the main definitions.

We are living in perilous times where every unchallengeable standard, which was once considered sacrosanct, is being violated without much contemplation. The Merriam-Webster's 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 to alter history, and to destroy both your past and present.

Image: Pixabay / Pixabay License