By Biodun Busari

Cambridge Dictionary has been criticised online as it revised the definition of “man” and “woman” to comprise people who do not identify with the sex they were assigned at birth.

It has updated its definition of “Man” to include “an adult who lives and identifies as a male though they may have been said to have a different sex at birth.”

According to the popular dictionary, “Woman” has been altered to have a definition of “an adult who lives and identifies as female though they may have been said to have a different sex at birth.”

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According to New York Post, both definitions previously reflected the outdated views on sex, which assumed that sex and gender identity always adhered to one another.

The alterations were swiftly criticised on the Internet, with American-Canadian political commentator, Steven Crowder tweeting, “Remember, if you can control the language, you can control the population.”

In the same vein, Daily Caller writer, Mary Rooke called the dictionary writers “F-ing traitors to the truth.”

Transgender

The Cambridge Dictionary revised the definitions of “man” and “woman” to include transgender people.

“Cambridge Dictionary is only the latest. If we don’t stop them from erasing women our civilization is [not going to make it],” she claimed.

Dan McLaughlin, a senior writer at National Review, viewed the revision as dystopian as opposed to progressive.

“1984 wasn’t supposed to be a how-to manual,” he tweeted.

Still, some social media users pushed back on the backlash, labelling critics transphobic and celebrating the changes as more inclusive.

“Guess what transphobes are upset about now? You guessed the dictionary, didn’t you,” Evan Urquhart of Assigned Media tweeted.

“[Trans-exclusionary radical feminists] ganna [sp] blow a gasket,” sculptor Daniel Lismore shared. “Trans people deserve to be recognized for who they are.”

Similarly, the UK-based group Bristol Leading Against Transphobia commended the decision as “Fantastic news.”