Luis Torres, a sophomore at Ithaca College, wants you to be offended. And he believes you should thank him for it.
Torres started an Internet campaign called Nude Awakening to shame Merriam-Webster and coax it into changing its entry for the definition of nude.
- having no clothes on
- of or involving people who have no clothes on
- having the color of a white person’s skin
“People often do not realize the smaller acts of racism lead to internalized hate and racism within communities of color and within white communities,” he told Mic.com. “Looking up the definition of ‘nude’ and seeing that even academic sources perpetuate the idea that white skin is more relevant … or just simply important, is detrimental to the psyche of people of color. Language is how we all communicate, and when words are designed and defined to be exclusive, it can be hurtful and harmful.”
Ah, another micro aggression. No one bothered to ask Torres to cite any acts of racism prompted by Merriam-Webster. Not that it matters.
Or point him to another dictionary entry.
Christian Boone 