Oxford English Dictionary drops 'dirty biker' definition

Dictionary drops references to 'long hair' and 'dirty denims' in its definition of 'bikers' after complaints from motorcyclists.

Fewer than one in 10 male bikers now has long hair Photo: Rex Features

By Telegraph reporters

The Telegraph -  24 Feb 2013

Oxford Dictionaries has dropped references to 'long hair' and 'dirty denims' in its definition of 'bikers' after motorcylists complained.

Oxford University Press, which publishes the Oxford English Dictionary, bowed to pressure from Britain's two-wheeled community, who claimed the description was outdated.

The online version previously defined biker as: "A motorcyclist, especially one who is a member of a gang: a long-haired biker in dirty denims."

However, figures show that far from the "long-haired and dirty denim" stereotype, fewer than one in 10 male bikers now has long hair (9 per cent).

Furthermore, almost half of British bikers (42 per cent) are totally free of tattoos, piercings, facial hair or gang markings.

OUP has now changed the Oxford Dictionaries Online definition of biker to: "A motorcyclist, especially one who is a member of a gang or group: a biker was involved in a collision with a car."

Almost three quarters, 74 per cent, believe the old definition was inaccurate, with 21 per cent saying they are "outraged and offended" by it.
And 65 per cent of motorcyclists spend the majority of their time riding alone - and not as a "member of a gang", a study by insurance firm Bennetts found.

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