![]() ![]() The point of this intervention was not just to criticise a few specific entries, but rather to draw attention to a pattern of sexist stereotyping in the dictionary’s illustrative examples. He also reproduced entries for the words ‘doctor’ and ‘research’ where the examples referred to doctors/researchers as ‘he’. The ones he reproduced included the phrase ‘a rabid feminist’ illustrating the metaphorical usage of ‘rabid’ the sentence ‘I will never really fathom the female psyche’ exemplifying the use of the term ‘psyche’ and a series of examples featuring women and female voices in entries for ‘shrill’, ‘grating’ and ‘nagging’. The Oxford dictionary he was talking about was the one that comes with Apple devices (Macs, i-Pads, i-Phones), and his question was about the examples that follow the definition of a word and illustrate its use in practice. Why does the Oxford Dictionary of English portray women as “rabid feminists” with mysterious “psyches” speaking in “shrill voices” who can’t do research or hold a PhD but can do “all the housework”? Related reading: Since Oman-Reagan’s posting, Buzzfeed has encountered more examples of gendered definitions in the Oxford Dictionary of English.Last week, the anthropologist Michael Oman-Reagan asked: The OUP spokesperson added that the publisher will also review the other examples raised by Oman-Reagan. That said, we are now reviewing the example sentence for ‘rabid’ to ensure that it reflects current usage.” The example sentences we use are taken from a variety of sources and do not represent the views of Oxford University Press. ![]() In a statement on Monday, a spokesperson for Oxford University Press, which is part of Oxford Dictionaries, apologized for the Twitter comments: “We apologise for the offence that these comments caused. “Shouldn’t the usage examples in this dictionary reflect that understanding of sexism in language?” ![]() “As the Oxford Dictionary says in the usage example for ‘sexism’: ‘sexism in language is an offensive reminder of the way the culture sees women.’” Oman-Reagan added. Meanwhile, Oman-Reagan, who is a PhD Candidate at the Memorial University of Newfoundland found other questionable example sentences and phrases under words like “rabid,” “psyche,” “research,” “housework,” “grating,” “nagging,” and “promiscuous,” and displays them in his post. Later, the dictionary’s account retracted the statement, apologizing for its “flippant” tone. “Why does the Oxford Dictionary of English portray women as “rabid feminists” with mysterious “psyches” speaking in “shrill voices” who can’t do research or hold a PhD but can do “all the housework”?” Oman-Reagan writes in his post on Medium.Īfter being tweeted about the example phrase with a suggestion that the publisher make a change, Oxford Dictionaries’ Twitter account responded: “If only there was a word to describe how strongly you felt about feminism.” The Oxford Dictionary of English is the default dictionary app on the latest Macs, iPads, and iPhones, making it the go-to source for many Americans.īut last week, Canadian anthropologist Michael Oman-Reagan noticed something troubling about the dictionary’s language: “rabid” is defined by the dictionary as “having or proceeding from an extreme fanatical support of or belief in something,” and it’s followed by the example phrase of “rabid feminist,” the Guardian reports. Oxford Dictionaries Reviews Discriminatory Language After Accusations of Sexism ![]()
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