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HelpRe: Bailey
in reply to a message by Mercy Joy
Nope, I don't like it. But it's less bad for a boy than for a girl! I think it's a good name for a dog... Bailey just seems really underdressed to me, like baggy overalls. Not sure why.
I like "soft" names for guys, but they have to be what I think of as "soft" in a masculine way.* Clover doesn't make the cut. Names that are naturey in a poetic way that suggests sense appeal or abstract symbolism, usually seem more feminine to me. Azure might sort of work for a boy because it suggests the sky and sounds like Asher, but I wouldn't really like it because I think of it as referring to the color. My idea of masculine nature names are names like Forest, Zephyr, River, Rowan. Ones that suggest movement or majestic space or strength. Other "soft masculine" names, to me, are ones full of soft sounds, that are place/surnames and traditionally male names. Like Tristan, Leith, Lucian, Francis, Silas.
I don't like Brecken and I don't think it sounds particularly masculine. Just seems trendy/surnamey, like Braxton. NMS. Kenny seems like a very artificial nickname for it. Brec would be better.
* Maybe I should add a disclaimer, this comment is about my taste, and what I feel can make names seem gendered for me personally; I'm not implying that I judge people for naming their daughters Rowan or their sons Ivy or whatever. If I meet women with names that I think are mannish, or men with names I think are womanish ... I'm OK and you're OK. I just don't give my approval to theoretical babynames that I think would give me that impression because it's not to my taste. I like unisex naming, but I wouldn't want to have a name that I think gives a truly gender-bending impression.
I like "soft" names for guys, but they have to be what I think of as "soft" in a masculine way.* Clover doesn't make the cut. Names that are naturey in a poetic way that suggests sense appeal or abstract symbolism, usually seem more feminine to me. Azure might sort of work for a boy because it suggests the sky and sounds like Asher, but I wouldn't really like it because I think of it as referring to the color. My idea of masculine nature names are names like Forest, Zephyr, River, Rowan. Ones that suggest movement or majestic space or strength. Other "soft masculine" names, to me, are ones full of soft sounds, that are place/surnames and traditionally male names. Like Tristan, Leith, Lucian, Francis, Silas.
I don't like Brecken and I don't think it sounds particularly masculine. Just seems trendy/surnamey, like Braxton. NMS. Kenny seems like a very artificial nickname for it. Brec would be better.
* Maybe I should add a disclaimer, this comment is about my taste, and what I feel can make names seem gendered for me personally; I'm not implying that I judge people for naming their daughters Rowan or their sons Ivy or whatever. If I meet women with names that I think are mannish, or men with names I think are womanish ... I'm OK and you're OK. I just don't give my approval to theoretical babynames that I think would give me that impression because it's not to my taste. I like unisex naming, but I wouldn't want to have a name that I think gives a truly gender-bending impression.
This message was edited 4/19/2013, 2:43 PM
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Replies
Hey I like what I like, what can I say?
What do you mean it seems Underdressed?
I suppose the er kind of make it rougher? hehe
I like most of your soft masculine names.
Wondering why anyone would think Brecken sounds girly?
I like some trendy names, there are alot name I don't like on this board but I am ok with that too.
I do not care if judge, that's your choice,
What is a theoretical name in your eyes?
I understand some names are not practical anywhere but in fiction
poor boys aren't allowed to ventured out of their stereotypes ya know?
but curious why giving a girl a boy name is popular or is it a safe choice or does it really empower them?
What do you mean it seems Underdressed?
I suppose the er kind of make it rougher? hehe
I like most of your soft masculine names.
Wondering why anyone would think Brecken sounds girly?
I like some trendy names, there are alot name I don't like on this board but I am ok with that too.
I do not care if judge, that's your choice,
What is a theoretical name in your eyes?
I understand some names are not practical anywhere but in fiction
poor boys aren't allowed to ventured out of their stereotypes ya know?
but curious why giving a girl a boy name is popular or is it a safe choice or does it really empower them?
This message was edited 4/19/2013, 3:34 PM
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Bailey just sounds sort of ... I dunno, I think of bales of hay. Hayseed. And I've known a lot of shaggy dogs named Bailey, and zero humans. It's more masculine just because it's a surname, and I just feel like the Bail sound is masculine maybe. Ba'al, baying of hounds, bailiff, bail out.
I guess Brecken could sound girly because of Breck shampoo, similarity to the word beckon, and the -en ending. But it doesn't sound feminine to me regardless of those things. I guess it reminds me of bracken, too, which is a fern - sort of feminine.
By theoretical I just mean, if someone asks me if I like a name, or a certain kind of name, I might give an opinion that sounds very particular. But my opinion of the name given on a message board, is not exactly what I'd say if I met a person whose name didn't suit my idea of what is pleasant, or gender-appropriate.
Like I'll say that a boy name "has to be masculine enough" and has to suggest gender-appropriate images or have gender-appropriate sounds to me. If I say it isn't masculine enough for a boy, I mean it isn't enough for me to like it on a boy. I don't mean that it isn't gender appropriate enough to be OK. I'm not gender-policing. People get all touchy about gender and sex, you know, and I was just trying to flameproof myself against excess political correctness.
It's gender-appropriate, that men transgressing masculinity is seen as "worse" than women transgressing femininity. It doesn't empower women to have masculine names. It is superficial. They're still women. Femininity as artifice and all that. It's just how gender is. There's no power differential there, no value difference. It's like the difference between pink and blue, only more complicated.
I guess Brecken could sound girly because of Breck shampoo, similarity to the word beckon, and the -en ending. But it doesn't sound feminine to me regardless of those things. I guess it reminds me of bracken, too, which is a fern - sort of feminine.
By theoretical I just mean, if someone asks me if I like a name, or a certain kind of name, I might give an opinion that sounds very particular. But my opinion of the name given on a message board, is not exactly what I'd say if I met a person whose name didn't suit my idea of what is pleasant, or gender-appropriate.
Like I'll say that a boy name "has to be masculine enough" and has to suggest gender-appropriate images or have gender-appropriate sounds to me. If I say it isn't masculine enough for a boy, I mean it isn't enough for me to like it on a boy. I don't mean that it isn't gender appropriate enough to be OK. I'm not gender-policing. People get all touchy about gender and sex, you know, and I was just trying to flameproof myself against excess political correctness.
It's gender-appropriate, that men transgressing masculinity is seen as "worse" than women transgressing femininity. It doesn't empower women to have masculine names. It is superficial. They're still women. Femininity as artifice and all that. It's just how gender is. There's no power differential there, no value difference. It's like the difference between pink and blue, only more complicated.
This message was edited 4/19/2013, 5:32 PM
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