Honest to god. I am speechless.
Oxford did this? (sigh) Read that article.
@washingtonpost today quotes @OmanReagan, who asked: “Why does [@OxfordWords] portray ♀ as ‘rabid feminists’ w/… https://t.co/Fe9KkoQdPO
— Mary Ann Mullaney (@MullaneyMaryAnn) January 27, 2016
“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’s discoveries started with a dictionary search for the word “rabid,” for which the example phrase turned out to be “rabid feminist.” That led him to other terms with gendered definitions or examples, several of which he said hearkened back to arcane stereotypes about women.
To help readers understand “shrill,” the dictionary offers as an example “the rising shrill of women’s voices.” For nagging, it is “a nagging wife.” And for “promiscuous”: “she’s a wild, promiscuous, good-time girl.”
Meanwhile, male pronouns are used in explanations for the words “doctor” and “research.”
And then Oxford snark tweets about PC. I give up.