SUDBURY, Mass. – A Massachusetts teenager is calling out Apple for a derogatory definition of the word “gay.”Becca Gorman, 15, is the daughter of two lesbian parents. She was writing an essay for school when she looked up the word “gay” in the Apple dictionary on her MacBook and found that they listed an informal definition of “foolish; stupid.”
A Massachusetts teenager is calling out Apple for a derogatory definition of the word “gay.”
Gormon told reporters her first reaction was disbelief, but then she took it personally and wrote a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook:
“I assume that you are a pro-gay company, and would never intend for anyone of your products to be as offensive as this definition was. Even with your addition of the word informal, this definition normalizes the terrible derogatory twist that many people put on the word ‘gay.’ The use of ‘gay’ as a negative adjective is not okay and needs to stop; insulting or making people feel uncomfortable everyday. All other derogatory terms within the dictionary have it listed as an offensive term or unacceptable.”
Apple responded with a phone call just a few minutes later and promised to look into the matter.
Other online dictionaries include the derogatory definitions of “gay,” but preface them with disclaimers such as “derogatory” or “offensive.”
