Merriam-Webster Updates its Definition of Bisexual

Following on the heels of bisexual awareness week, many organizations have spread the word about Bi Pride. Among them, Merriam-Webster recently updated its definition of the word bisexual to be more inclusive and less binary following a push from bisexual advocate Robyn Ochs to make the change.

In a statement, LGBTQ advocacy group GLAAD praised the dictionary company, which was appropriately timed to September 23, or Bisexual Visibility Day. GLAAD officials called this an “important step in helping to create a more accurate and current understanding of bisexual people.” Both GLADD and Ochs still feel that the definition isn’t perfect.

The Publisher recently updated the definition on its website to now read:

 “of, relating to, or characterized by a sexual or romantic attraction to people of one’s same sex and the opposite sex. also: of, relating to, or characterized by a sexual or romantic attraction to people of one’s own gender identity or other gender identities.”

Ochs first reached out to Merriam-Webster in 2019 to ask the company to update its description of bisexuality to more accurately reflect the way most bisexuals were using it. At the time, the publisher defined the term as:

“1a: possessing characters of both sexes, especially both male and female reproductive structures. 1b: of, relating to, or characterized by a sexual or romantic attraction to both men and women. 2: of or relating to both sexes.” 

It was now a year later, and nothing had changed, so Ochs reached out to GLAAD looking for help to lobby for the update. Together, they sent a letter to Marriam-Webster explaining that the word “both” implied that sex and gender are binary. Definition 1b also erases the fact that many bisexual people have the capacity to be attracted to nonbinary people as well as those who have a gender identity outside of the male-female binary.

Having successfully swayed the publishing company into updating the definition, Ochs celebrated the adjustment in a statement on Twitter but added that “more work needs to be done” in regards to the current standing definition.

GLAAD shared multiple, alternative definitions of the word from LGBTQ groups and health organizations. For example, the Bisexual Resource Center defines the term as “anyone who is attracted to more than one gender”. The American Psychological Association says a bisexual is someone who “experiences emotional, romantic, and/ or sexual attractions to, or engages in romantic or sexual relationships with more than one sex or gender.”

“The historical and cultural definition of bisexual has always referred to more than one gender,” the Trevor Project explains in their guide on How to Support Bisexual Youth. “Identity definitions are not just literal. They are a part of our ever-evolving language that reflects the diversity of people using these words.”