Cambridge dictionary is facing backlash after changing the definitions of “man” and “woman” to accommodate people who “identify” as a gender different than their biological sex. According to Fox News, the dictionary now defines a woman as “an adult who lives and identifies as female though they may have been said to have a different sex at birth.” Man has also been redefined as “an adult who lives and identifies as male though they may have been said to have a different sex at birth.” 

Many people have voiced opposition to the change on Twitter, arguing that changing how society classifies gender and sex is incorrect and dangerous. Christopher Rufo, a fellow at the Manhattan Institute, stated, “Cambridge Dictionary just dropped a new definition of ‘woman,’” noting that the dictionary used the pronoun “they” to describe the subject rather than “she.” He explained, “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.”

Cambridge’s change in definitions of “woman” and “man” signifies an increasingly radical movement to reject the categories’ previously accepted uses. Notably, Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson refused to define the word woman during her confirmation hearing, stating she was “not a biologist.”