New Zealand’s prime minister goes viral for struggling to define the term 'woman': 'People define themselves'

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Chris Hipkins, New Zealand’s newly elected Prime Minister, refused to define the term "woman," arguing that "people define themselves" when pressed by a reporter.

During a press conference Sunday, New Zealand media company The Platform asked Hipkins how he, and the New Zealand government, define what a woman is. 

"To be honest, that question has come out of left field for me. The biology, sex, gender," he said before taking a long pause. "People define themselves, people define their own genders."

When asked about the term again, Hipkins diverted the question and said that "people identity for themselves."

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"I wasn’t expecting that question, so it wasn’t something I pre-formulated an answer on. But in terms of gender identify, people identity for themselves," he said.

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Despite being unable to define the term woman, Hipkins replaced female Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in January 2023.

In April 2022, Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., asked Biden nominated Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson during her nomination hearing if she could provide a definition for the word woman. Jackson answered, "I cannot."

New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins failed to define the term "woman." (Kerry Marshall)

"Men and women are already equal under the law, but they have real biological differences that we must respect and celebrate…By insisting that men can become women, the left is destroying what it means to be a woman and is pushing women and girls out of sports, public life, and positions of leadership," Blackburn told Fox News Digital after International Women's Day. "Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson showcased this absurdity for the American people and proved how far the left will go to promote their anti-women agenda."

Despite celebrating International Women's Day this year, the U.S. Department of Education, Department of Health and Human Services and National Institutes of Heath was unable to definite the term when previously asked by Fox.

Before the 2022 midterm elections, Fox News Digital asked several Democratic candidates who were selling campaign merchandise for "women," such as Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, to define the term, but they all refused to answer the question.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson would not define the word woman when asked during her confirmation hearing. (J. Scott Applewhite)

In July 2022, the Church of England was also asked the question and argued that "there is no official definition" for what a woman is.

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"There is no official definition, which reflects the fact that until fairly recently definitions of this kind were thought to be self-evident, as reflected in the marriage liturgy," Senior Bishop Rt Rev Robert Innes said, according to reporting from GB News. It is a scientific and biblical truth. How can you trust someone who cannot speak the truth about such basic facts?"

Fox News' Michael Lee and Brandon Gillespie contributed to this report.