Johns Hopkins Receives Flak for 'Lesbian' Definition

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The Chief Diversity Officer at Johns Hopkins Medicine stepped down this week

Johns Hopkins University has removed an online glossary of LGBT+ terms and identities this week after its definition of the word "lesbian" used the term "non-man" to refer to women.

Before it was taken down, the university defined the word "lesbian" as a "non-man attracted to non-men" which was intended to include nonbinary people who may identify with the label.

According to a statement by the university's director of strategic communications Megan Christin, the glossary "[served] as an introduction to the range of identities and terms that [were] used within LGBTQ communities, and [was] not intended to serve as the definitive answers as to how all people understand or use these terms."

"While the glossary is a resource posted on the website of the Johns Hopkins University Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI), the definitions were not reviewed or approved by ODI leadership and the language in question has been removed pending review," she added.

Christin did not respond to questions regarding when the online glossary was first uploaded.

Johns Hopkins Slammed for 'Lesbian' Term

Screenshots of the glossary were redistributed across social media, stirring an online firestorm in recent days. Many women, including lesbians, called the definition "misogynistic," noting the definition for "gay man" did not use comparable language like "non-women."

Among those who criticized the definition was lesbian tennis star Martina Navratilova, who explained "lesbian" as "literally the only word in [the] English language that is not tied to man." "And now lesbians are non-men?" she retorted on Twitter.

Meanwhile, Harry Potter series author JK Rowling, herself widely accused for being transphobic, responded about the matter on Twitter. "Man: no definition needed. Non-man (formerly known as woman): a being definable only by reference to the male," she wrote. "An absence, a vacuum where there's no man-ness."

Even former US ambassador to the United Nations and 2024 Republican presidential contender Nikki Haley reacted to the glossary, calling the definition of the word "lesbian" "infuriating."

"This war on women has to stop," she wrote on Twitter. "First, allowing biological boys to play girls' sports. Now, defining a woman as a 'non-man.'"

Questions About Gender

The university's glossary was the latest in a string of incidents where people discuss and disagree about the integration of gender-neutral language. A global survey released by Ipsos this month found that 1.3% of over 22,000 participants across the world earlier this year identified as nonbinary, gender-nonconforming, or gender-fluid.

However, a new national poll by the Public Religion Research Institute showed a majority of Americans, around 65%, think there are only two genders, male and female, and do not believe in gender neutral identities. The poll also showed views on gender identity were deeply divided by party affiliation, with 90% of GOP respondents saying there are just two genders,compared with 66% of independents and 44% of Democrats.