Teen Pushes Apple to Change Its ‘Insulting’ Dictionary Definition of the Word ‘Gay’
Ms. Gorman (WCVB-TV)
If you were to look up 15-year-old Becca Gorman's face when she saw how the word "gay" was defined on Apple's online dictionary, it would be dismayed.
The Massachusetts teenager, who is the daughter of two gay parents, was outraged that the one of the meanings listed on her MacBook Pro laptop included the words "foolish (or) stupid." The example sentence: “making students wait for the light is kind of a gay rule.” Alarmed and "insulted" that it looked like Apple was legitimizing the slang version of the word, she contacted the computer company to change it.
Ms. Gorman was confused why the Tim Cook-led, ENDA-endorsed company would source that definition. “Even with your addition of the word informal, this definition normalizes the terrible derogatory twist that many people put on the word ‘gay,'" she wrote.
An hour later, an Apple representative that wasn't Mr. Cook said they would investigate the matter. They told her they were "shocked" that the definition was being used and would remove it. As of yesterday, the definition wasn't changed, which is prompting Ms. Gorman to bring more attention to it.
“I feel like we’re going to have to make a bigger deal about it before they actually act on it,” she said.
