Oxford dictionary revised their definition of 'rapist' from 'a man who commits rape' to this. Are you ok with this?

H2owsome · 2014-09-14T07:24:04+00:00

thief: (n) A person, typically black, who steals something

IgnatiusBSamson · 2014-09-14T06:14:18+00:00

TorontoAnnex · 2014-09-14T13:11:40+00:00

I went to their contact page a pointed out it was in error.

The position I used was to point out that it was not consistent with other definitions. No where in the STEM fields did they define an Engineer as , Typically a man or in the same vein , of crime. Did they define a child-killer as typically a woman. Or a prisoner as typically black.

I said that that showed blatant bias in the writers definition, shoe horning in a political view point where there should be none. The problem of that is then all definitions are in question since the reader does not know what has being included or omitted because of the writer's and reviewer's biases. So than the entire dictionary is questionable. As well , if one group or politic is given sway with the defining of words then where does it stop? There will be a queue around the block of people each wanting to write their own definitions to their favour, facts be damned.

Factual correctness will wither in the face of political correctness and The Oxford Dictionary will become meaningless as it will be easily pliable to what be the politics of the moment and definitions omitted or coloured to suit those who rule over it . Going down this road Oxford will become an Orwellian "New Speak" book of omissions and insertions not based on facts or reality but on politics where everything is pliable to the views of the writer and politics trump facts and the prevailing emotion trumps reality.

Texas_Rangers · 2014-09-14T03:55:52+00:00

original definition from an 11 month old post

SirSkeptic · 2014-09-14T09:12:05+00:00

Posit: Dictionaries change their definitions over time to reflect common usage.

If: The majority of people today do not consider themselves feminists.

Because: They regard the term feminist to mean a women who hates men.

Then: The majority common usage of the term feminist is a woman who hates men.

feminist: (n) A person, typically a woman, who hates men.

Is there somewhere we can remind dictionaries to upgrade their terms?

WWLadyDeadpool · 2014-09-14T03:59:16+00:00

The CDC describes forced penetration as rape but forced to penetrate as sexual assault, (making forcing a man to have sex the same as grabbing someone's ass) so it isn't that uncommon an idea.

ZeroError · 2014-09-14T10:46:59+00:00

I'll say the same as I say every time: in the UK, rape is defined under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 as being commited by a person with a penis.

People who have penises are typically men, so this definition is fair in that regard.

huzzarisme · 2014-09-14T12:13:19+00:00

Better but not equal. However, dictionaries must reflect common usage.

Arran03 · 2014-09-14T14:27:12+00:00

No, I'm not ok with this, and won't be until the definition is "a person who commits rape." Even if they now implicitely admit that a woman can also commit rape, it's just that: an implication, while the possibility of a man committing rape is still described as the usual reality.

dodehoekspiegel · 2014-09-14T16:04:42+00:00

Typically a man? That's not even relevant, even if true. It has no place in a dictionary definition.

Windex007 · 2014-09-14T17:11:59+00:00

The relationship between the english language and the english dictionary is bizarre.

People seem to think the dictionary is prescriptive in nature. It isn't. Not for english, anyways. It is descriptive. It is a record of typical usage.

If the word is typically used to describe a man, then this entry in the dictionary has described the meaning of the word of typical usage.

This is a common theme in this sub. When a man does it, people call it rape. When women do it, people call it something else. The dictionary isn't driving that behaviour, it is describing it.

Changing a dictionary definition of a word is actually really straightforward: just convince everyone to use the word differently and the dictionary will follow.

wazzup987 · 2014-09-14T17:25:23+00:00

BlueDoorFour · 2014-09-14T21:18:17+00:00

Perhaps they mean to say that in common usage, "rapist" usually refers to a man, while women who rape aren't acknowledged as such?

It's an optimistic interpretation that they're just displaying the common stereotype. I agree with all of you that there is no reason to qualify with "typically a man."

Title	Oxford dictionary revised their definition of 'rapist' from 'a man who commits rape' to this. Are you ok with this?
Author	Texas_Rangers
Upvotes	28
Comments	30
Date	September 14, 2014 3:55 AM UTC (11 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/mensrights/comments/2gceu0/oxford-dictionary-revised-their-definition-of-/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/oxford-dictionary-revised-their-definition-of.1621048 https://theredarchive.com/post/1621048

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