Thursday 28 January 2016

Oxford Dictionary of English: "Shouldn't the usage examples in this dictionary reflect that understanding of sexism in language?"


Excerpt from Sexism in the Oxford Dictionary of English by Michael Oman-Reagan at SPACE + ANTHROPOLOGY, 22 January 2016:

The Oxford Dictionary of English is the default dictionary on Apple’s Mac OS X operating system. Anyone using a Mac, an iPad, or iPhone will get definitions
from this dictionary. So why is it filled with explicitly sexist usage examples?  Here are those I’ve found so far.

a rabid feminist”

“the rising shrill of women’s voices

a mysterious “female psyche”

When it comes to a high degree like a PhD, then the example is a man.

Research? That’s also done by men.

A PhD and research might be men’s work, but women can do “all the housework.”

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.”

Shouldn’t the usage examples in this dictionary reflect that understanding of sexism in language?

No comments: