Home Consumer Merriam-Webster’s 2017 Word of the Year Is “Feminism” (Video)

Merriam-Webster’s 2017 Word of the Year Is “Feminism” (Video)

feminism

Merriam-Webster’s word of the year for 2017 is “feminism.” Nathan Rousseau Smith (@FantasticMrNate) explains why.

Feminism spiked following news coverage of the Women’s March on Washington, DC in January (and other related marches held around the country and internationally), and follow-up discussions regarding whether the march was feminist, and what kind of feminism was represented by organizers and attendees. The word spiked again when Kellyanne Conway said during an interview that she didn’t consider herself a feminist. In this case, the definition of feminism was itself the subject of the news story—an invitation for many people to look up the word.

Interest in the dictionary definition of feminism was also driven by entertainment this year: we saw increased lookups after the release of both Hulu’s series The Handmaid’s Tale and the film Wonder Woman.

Merriam-Webster, excerpt posted on SouthFloridaReporter.com, Dec. 13, 2017

Video by Veuer/Nathan Rousseau Smith