Merriam Webster dictionary adds definition of “female”

but to be clear I am 100% not ok with this

A gender identity that is the opposite of female surely

A have sympathy with the dictionary writers because clearly when some people use the word they mean something else, but they tend to as elusive as possible about saying what.

In practice I try substituting "sex kitten" / "glamourous diva" /"harmless & non threatening" / or "classy lady" into the sentence until I find a stereotype that makes sense.

They have also updated 'girl' and 'boy' to include transgender uses.

As an aside, I already saw someone on Twitter argue that saying transgender female for a trans woman is perfectly fine as it is dictionary use, and then a reference to Merriam Webster. In other words, that it is no longer linked to something based on biology at all.

So if that was accepted, there would then not be any words at all which would clearly refer to an individual of the female sex.

No dictionary can describe the full range of meanings a words might have. They are guides to usage, descriptive and not prescriptive. They are tools you use to help you work out the meaning a word has when you come across it, not a repository of information on what words should mean. They don't provide mathematical definitions. The only decisive authority they really have is for scrabble players.

@GrumpyPanda
To play devil's advocate - the point of a dictionary is recording usage, no matter the underlying realities (that's what an encyclopedia does).

That wasn't really my point. A dictionary should also describe the meanings of a word. Each definition should be complete in itself. 'Woman (n) adult, human female' is a classic example. One of the rules of a dictionary definition it to avoid circularity. The Merriam Webster definitions for 'woman' and 'man' fail dismally in this respect.

‘Gender identity’ is a load of stereotypical bullshit, and the people with a ‘gender identity’ know this, which makes it impossible for them to say what their ‘gender identity’ is, because when they come out with it, it sounds so silly. ‘I must be a woman, not a man, because I like long hair, make-up, dresses’, yada, yada….

And it’s how you end up with these non-words and non-definitions - because the minute a gender devotee tried to define gender, the whole stereotypical ridiculousness is exposed.

So they’re left with ‘man’: not a woman, and ‘woman’: not man - exposing ‘gender’ for what it is. Which is nothing.

You will never see a gender devotee define gender, or even be able to explain what their own gender identity is. Never.

I thought it was all a spectrum, how can there be opposites? /s

This is why you should never try and prove a point by referring to the dictionary, it's not intended to be used that way.

They don't just randomly decide what definitions to include. It's based on actual usage in places like the media or surveys.

It's not a scientific or technical dictionary that gives a scientific or technical definition.

They're calling us human factories, now?! I thought 'womb carrier' was bad.

Great. Women noun adult human factory second.

Most people haven't got a fucking clue what a "gender identity" is. Not even those who proclaim to have one.

The definition makes no sense it's a minority view held by a minority of people who can't explain their views.

To play devil's advocate - the point of a dictionary is recording usage, no matter the underlying realities (that's what an encyclopedia does).

To record widespread usage. Not to record the ideas of a politically captured bunch of crazies.

To play devil's advocate - the point of a dictionary is recording usage, no matter the underlying realities (that's what an encyclopedia does).

Which does raise the question whether usage really has changed to such an extent, other than a few extremists with their own nade-up language, and whether Webster can shire that up with actual quantitative data.

Oh ffs:

Male: having a gender identity that is the opposite of female.

and “gender identity” is:

a person's internal sense of being male, female, some combination of male and female, or neither male nor female

So I guess some females by this definition have an “internal sense” of being the opposite of the opposite of the opposite of the opposite of….

TRAs really do have the opposite of a Midas touch, don’t they?

As stated by a pp, it seems they don't actually know what a dictionary is.

Having a gender identity that is the opposite of male.

How did they define male?

I think their definition is possibly adult uncastrated male domestic bovine bodily waste discharged through the anus.

And yet Merriam Webster... a bull is a male bovine, esp an adult uncastrated male domestic bovine or an adult male of various large animals?.....

Don't fancy being the one checking a bull's inner feelz....

😂 so actually they can’t provide a definition?! What’s the point of a dictionary?

Do they do the same with boy/girl?

So male is the norm and female is not the norm?
I’m wondering at the age of the people who are in charge of this “dictionary”. It’s actually laughable.

I checked and they also added this to the definition of "male":

“Having a gender identity that is the opposite of female.”

So I guess it's more of an oval definition than a circular one.

You have one job, Webster - one job….. 😑

This!

I've seen this I think they've updated male too with a similar description - an identity opposite of female.

They are both wrong! Female and male are to do with a person's sex. So should be 'someone with xx chromosomes' or predominantly xx chromosomes'.

Because you have to be boorishly pedantic so it seems to say something we all bloody know.