Google the definition of the words "whinge,Watch Devil’s Night: Dawn of the Nain Rouge Online" "promiscuous," or "ugly," and you might notice a subtle trend.
All these definitions have examples where women are portrayed in a negative light, or are subject to sexist, outdated tropes. From sentences such as "she let off steam by having a good whinge" to "she's a wild, promiscuous, good-time girl" -- these examples are undoubtedly unpleasant.
SEE ALSO: Watch Helen Mirren keep her chill in this sexist interview from the '70sIt's something that advertising employees Georgia Patch and Kiah Nicholas from Sydney, Australia, have noticed, leading a project called "Redefine Women" which is pushing to have these sentences changed.
View this post on Instagram
Nicholas, a copywriter, often spends her day finding definitions and synonyms via Google. But it was a particular definition one day that piqued her interest.
"A couple of weeks back I stumbled across one -- grating -- and I noticed the sentence example, 'her gratingvoice' and I screen-grabbed it straight away," Nicholas told Mashable Australia.
Nicholas sent the definition's example via email to Patch, who she often discusses sexism with. They eventually found other sentence examples with negative portrayals of women.
"Kiah sent through this definition, and I thought it was objectively bad. We did a little more delving and searching, then we ended up stumbling on so many words ... we realised there was something fundamentally wrong that is being overlooked for far too long," Patch said.
"We just thought to ourselves that we can raise awareness around this, and try and get these definitions contemporised to be more accurate examples, that define women in a more positive light," she added.
View this post on Instagram
The examples come from Oxford Dictionaries, which told Mashable Australiathat the sentences are taken from a variety of sources of English, and don't represent their views.
While the two women are trying to get the attention of Google to amend the examples, they say they firmly believe the company will be welcoming of the idea, due to its ethos.
"We see Google as a really progressive and forward-thinking company. We think they'd be so on-board with something like this, and want to maintain that positive perception and trust people have in Google," Patch said.
"They're the world's largest aggregator of definitions, and the go-to for the general population for the meaning of words," Nicholas said.
View this post on Instagram
The duo are focusing on the definition examples for the moment, in the belief it's the start of a much bigger conversation about gender inequality.
"There's definitely bigger goals to achieve, but right now this is the start of a conversation, starting with definitions. Because it's a fundamental thing that we need to get right, if these bigger conversations are going to be impactful," Patch added.
A Google spokesperson told Mashable Australiavia email that it will be investigating the issue.
"The definitions and sample sentences we provide come from the Oxford Dictionary of English and do not reflect Google's opinions or beliefs," according to the spokesperson.
"As a company, we strongly value gender equality and a diversity of perspectives, ideas and cultures. We are looking into the issue, but you can always give feedback on definitions you find unacceptable, so we can improve these results over time."
You can read more about how dictionary examples are chosen here.
Time will tell, indeed.
[h/t Pedestrian.TV]
Previous:Control-Alt-Fail
Titans vs. Texans 2024 livestream: How to watch NFL onlineBest Black Friday TV deal: $450 off 85Army vs. Notre Dame football livestreams: kickoff time, streaming deals, and moreBYU vs. Arizona State football livestreams: kickoff time, streaming deals, and moreEarly Black Friday drone deals [2024]Best Black Friday Floorboard Deal: Free Eminence IR Sampler PackMatt Gaetz joins Cameo like disgraced congressman before himArmy vs. Notre Dame football livestreams: kickoff time, streaming deals, and moreNYT Connections hints and answers for November 24: Tips to solve 'Connections' #532.Best Black Friday PS5 controller deal: Save $20 on DualSense wireless controllerBig Boom AJ, Big Justice, and the Rizzler won at AEW Full Gear. The internet loved it.Kentucky vs. Texas football livestreams: kickoff time, streaming deals, and moreIreland vs. Fiji 2024 livestream: Watch Autumn Internationals for freeMatt Gaetz joins Cameo like disgraced congressman before himBig Boom AJ, Big Justice, and the Rizzler won at AEW Full Gear. The internet loved it.Best Black Friday TV deal: $450 off 85Indiana vs. Ohio State football livestreams: kickoff time, streaming deals, and moreBest Black Friday headphones deal: Save $40 on the SHOKZ OpenRunGoPro Hero13 Bundle Black Friday deal: Save $100 and get a $25 gift cardThe Office Lego Black Friday deal: Save $50 at Walmart Gather round and be blessed by this precious puppy's 'newborn' photoshoot Superflex Aura Power Suits give the elderly increased mobility Obama's right: Social media has damaged our democracy Donald Trump addressed alleged lurid sexual acts by saying he's a 'germaphobe' Facebook just fixed a major battery Watch this 17 year old perform jaw Donald Trump's long history of troubling statements about vaccines and autism Twitter is showing some users tweets from people they don't follow (Updated) Telegram claimed to be compromised in Trump leak dossier Will the Milky Way and Andromeda crash? Now scientists aren't so sure. Facebook has unveiled its Snapchat Discover clone Artists to protest Trump with painting made with human blood Snowboarder backflips off a moving car like it's NBD FIFA may have just ruined the World Cup, and fans aren't happy Facebook wants to make journalism great again, releases lengthy plan Artist father designs awesome lunch bags to help son make friends Judge dismisses libel suit against Trump because his tweets are 'hyperbolic' A powerful group of women will run from NYC to the Women's March on Washington Trump says he'll be the greatest job producer God has ever created, and Twitter is skeptical Read this heart
2.956s , 10154.921875 kb
Copyright © 2025 Powered by 【Watch Devil’s Night: Dawn of the Nain Rouge Online】,Unobstructed Information Network