SUDBURY, Mass. (WHDH) — While 15-year-old Becca Gorman was writing an essay about the lack of rights for gays and lesbians she discovered something that shocked her.
The Lincoln-Sudbury student was hoping to use the definition of gay in her essay, but the apple dictionary listed three definitions including "foolish, stupid" and used the example of "making students wait for the light is kind of a gay rule.”
"I know that it's been normalized a lot, the use of the word that way, but I never would've thought that it's come to the point where it's being recognized as a definition," Becca said,
Becca was especially sensitive to the definition because she has two moms. She decided to write to Apple CEO Tim Cook.
"I'm asking for you to remove this definition from the dictionary you are promoting, or make a significant change to it," her letter read.
An Apple representative called the family within an hour to apologize, saying they’d look into the definition, but a week later the definition was still there.
Becca's moms said they are not mad, but proud of their daughter who took a stand for something she believed strongly in.
"My initial response was, good for you, you wrote a letter to the CEO and they responded. That's fantastic,” Mary Gorman said.
The Gorman’s hope that Apple will at least add that the usage of the word in that way is offensive.