Sex and Gender 2

[TonyJollans]

One of my pet hates is the ever-more widespread use of Gender to mean Sex.

There are two sexes: male and female. Each of us is either male or female.

There are two genders: masculine and feminine. Each of us has qualities of both masculinity and femininity predominantly, though not exclusively, reflecting our sex. Nouns may also have gender.

When reviewing documents, I always highlight incorrect usage of these terms but no longer say, as I once did "Nouns have Gender, People have Sex"; I have found too many people completely lacking in humour.

Why are we so coy?

Enjoy,
Tony

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[LFCfan]

<tongue in cheek>perhaps these people weren't having sex at the time?</tongue in cheek>

i admit i am guilty of this (the use of "gender", i hasten to add) - although more frequently use the expression "gender-specific". particularly in situations when male colleagues/acquaintances state (and clearly assume) that, being female, i must enjoy shopping for clothes, dislike football, and love cooking (this is one of my pet hates). my use of this expression is probably wrong, but is nonetheless strangely effective, even when said in half-jest

 

[SQLSister]

Not to rain on your parade or anything, but I looked up gender in the dictionary.

From Mirriam Webster On-line Dictionary (

http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary):

"Main Entry: 1gen·der
Pronunciation: 'jen-d&r
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English gendre, from Middle French genre, gendre, from Latin gener-, genus birth, race, kind, gender -- more at KIN
1 a : a subclass within a grammatical class (as noun, pronoun, adjective, or verb) of a language that is partly arbitrary but also partly based on distinguishable characteristics (as shape, social rank, manner of existence, or sex) and that determines agreement with and selection of other words or grammatical forms b : membership of a word or a grammatical form in such a subclass c : an inflectional form showing membership in such a subclass
2 a : SEX <the feminine gender> b : the behavioral, cultural, or psychological traits typically associated with one sex"

So using the word Gender to mean Sex is a correct usage.

 

[bcastner]

Tony,

It bothered me too, but the underlying issue is the corruption of the word sex. It now generally means intimate contact of some form; so attempting to discover the more traditional meaning of the word requires that one lamely use gender to make the intention clear?.

 

[ramani]

Hi

Just lighter side....

An application form...

Name...:
Address:
Sex... :

The applicant promptly filling the form...
againt Sex..: I like




____________________________________________
ramani - (Subramanian.G)

http://winnersoft.coolfreepages.com/

 

[Stella740pl]

Oh!
I heard it slightly differently:

...
The applicant is filling in:
Sex: 3 times a week.

 

[bcastner]

My doctor recommended a colo-rectal exam (coloscopy) when I turned 50.

I remember the interview:

"Sex?"
Male
"Your are homosexual?"
No
"But, you have sex?"
Yes
"How often?"
Being male, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

We eventually sorted the issue at question.

Bill

 

[Stella740pl]

bcastner,

Probably that's why many doctors take their time to ask "Are you sexually active?

 

[TonyJollans]

Before the thread degenerates completely ... I wasn't sure about starting it - I didn't know if it would get any response, or any sensible response. I do take it semi-seriously but I know I'm fighting a losing battle. The Forum is, in part, for lighthearted discussions on words and it's nice to see some.

Of course English is a living language and the dictionaries reflect that. Unlike many other languages there is no 'official' English; I have a book of the complete Dutch language which fits in my coat pocket; I have a bookshelf which attempts to cover the complete English language.

It is true that the word sex, like so many others, has been corrupted. I suppose its use in place of other words inevitably means that another word has to found to replace its traditional use. Although I don't use it myself I must accept that others do and usage, regardless of almost anything else, makes this (and much else) 'correct'.

Bill - that's some birthday present! My friends and family were a trifle kinder on my 50th.

Enjoy,
Tony

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[bcastner]

Tony,

I can hardly wait for my 60th birthday.

I would be interested in your opinion on the abuse of the word "data."

 

[TonyJollans]

Hi Bill,

A-ha! The plural of datum - I'll add it to the agenda.

Usage, again, is the problem here and it is, effectively, a collective singular now, although I still treat it as plural.

Enjoy,
Tony

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[medic]

stella740pl,

"The applicant is filling in:
Sex: 3 times a week."

I've heard of that joke wherein an applicant filling out a form and didn't know what to put in the "Sex" field. He took a glance at the other applicants' form. He saw a guy wrote down "M", while a lady wrote "F". So, he decided to write down "M-W-F".

 

[lespaul]

Another applicant funny:

Status:
?Single ?Married ?Divorced
Yes, in that order

 

[lespaul]

How annoying!!
The ? were nice little boxes in the preview!

Leslie

 

[ANFPS26]

What about RS-232 "gender" changers (or benders). Are we supposed to call them "sex" changers??

Jim

 

[sleipnir214]

This from the YourDictionary.com entry on gender:

Usage Note: Traditionally, gender has been used primarily to refer to the grammatical categories of "masculine," "feminine," and "neuter," but in recent years the word has become well established in its use to refer to sex-based categories, as in phrases such as gender gap and the politics of gender. This usage is supported by the practice of many anthropologists, who reserve sex for reference to biological categories, while using gender to refer to social or cultural categories. According to this rule, one would say [blue]The effectiveness of the medication appears to depend on the sex (not gender) of the patient[/blue], but [blue]In peasant societies, gender (not sex) roles are likely to be more clearly defined[/blue]. This distinction is useful in principle, but it is by no means widely observed, and considerable variation in usage occurs at all levels.

Thus, I think "gender" is the correct word to use for connectors.




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[tilcat]

This thread is all about "politically correct speech", not truly correct speech. There are numerous phrases or items that you need to tailor to the audience. "Data" and "datum" is one. For academics, I do the proper, but pretentions, "datum". For real folks, I use "data" if I absolutely have to. Actually, I prefer to avoid the issue entirely -- simply because I cannot bring myself to use "datum" or "medium" when I mean only one of TV, print and radio.

Correct-but-pretentious loses every time.

 

[chrissie1]

I have a book of the complete Dutch language which fits in my coat pocket

I take offense being dutch speaking.
Dont come to belgium with your one book you wont find half the words they use and the other half has another meaning 5km up the road, we have more dialcts then people.

Christiaan Baes
Belgium

If you want to get an answer read this FAQ faq796-2540
What a wonderfull world - Louis armstrong

 

[TonyJollans]

You are right to some extent, tilcat, to say that one should tailor one's language to one's audience, and I would rarely use datum. Data, however, is still plural and, although I have had it 'corrected' in some documents I have written I always use it in the plural and tend towards phrases such as an item of data for the singular - analagous to the item on the agenda in common use because nobody uses agendum.

I do, however, disagree about media. Television is a medium, even in normal usage (in England anyway) and it would never cross my mind to describe it as a media and it grates when I occasionally hear it.

A similar one is criteria. More and more I hear criteria used in the singular (especially in IT circles) instead of the correct criterion but, as yet, have been unable to bring myself to use it that way.

Enjoy,
Tony

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[TonyJollans]

Christiaan,

Perhaps I overstate to call Het Groene Boekje (now out of date, I believe) the complete Dutch Language but the point still stands that English is a much larger, more varied and dynamic language than most. You are, of course, right to say that Dutch as spoken varies wildly from the 'official' language (and Dutch and Belgian pronunciation differ even without local variations) but there still is an official Dutch; there is not an official English. There are regional English dialects which I, a native English speaker, cannot understand and I don't think Britain is unique in that so I'm sure you're right to say the same about Belgium.

Please don't take offense; I have great admiration for anybody who speaks more than one language and especially the Dutch who are often fluent in four. I have schoolboy French and some Dutch from living in The Netherlands and I find that I can just about get by in Belgium with a hybrid of the two - by that I mean I can be understood which is not the same as understanding what is said to me, of course.

Enjoy,
Tony

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