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HelpRe: How strict are you with the category ‘unisex’ or ‘gender neutral’?
in reply to a message by peregrine
I've been trying to distinguish between when I actually mean "uni-sex" / "gender-neutral," and when I just like names that can take on either gender.
I guess it depends on what I perceive as conventional.
I feel like there are gender-neutral names like Kai and Winter and Sage and Marley, that have no conventional gender association that I'm aware of. I would call them uni-sex or gender-neutral. If I meet a Sage of either sex, I still perceive the name as unisex / genderless.
There are not very many names like that, that I like. Gender-less to me seems sexless - seeming to have very low potential to be sexy. My perception can change if I meet a bearer who is sexy, of course, but in the abstract, aesthetically with respect to names, I'm not much of a fan of gender-neutrality.
There are exceptions, though!
Then there are names that I see as conventional for either sex, like Robin and Avery - those aren't "neutral" to me, but "both/either." They have 2 possible genders, in my mind. Like the apparent gender of the name, is induced by the bearer's sex. If I meet a female Robin, her name is a feminine one. But if I meet a male Robin, his name is a masculine one.
There a few that I think are technically gender-neutral, like Vivian and Zephyr and Mackenzie, that I perceive as conventionally at least *kinda* gendered - so that they can more or less clash or harmonize with the bearer's sex. Sometimes I aesthetically like a clash, or I like the unconventional usage more than the clash offends me. But generally I'd hesitate to use them in the unconventional way, because IMO cross-gender names are often actually drawing attention to the bearer's _sex_ in a way that a conventional usage does not. Some people find it sexy ... I usually don't.
My categories applied to your examples:
Unisex / gender-neutral: Harley, October, Winter, Kai, KJ, Vae
Both/either: Robin, Dara
Some conventional gender, but potentially flexible: Charlie, Rowan, Ira, Isa, Valentine, Esa, Rocky, Roan, Zephyr, Ceph, Iocasti, Baran
Gendered, IMV: Farah, Celeste, Fae, Peri (not Perry), Aries, Mars, Muse
- mirfak
I guess it depends on what I perceive as conventional.
I feel like there are gender-neutral names like Kai and Winter and Sage and Marley, that have no conventional gender association that I'm aware of. I would call them uni-sex or gender-neutral. If I meet a Sage of either sex, I still perceive the name as unisex / genderless.
There are not very many names like that, that I like. Gender-less to me seems sexless - seeming to have very low potential to be sexy. My perception can change if I meet a bearer who is sexy, of course, but in the abstract, aesthetically with respect to names, I'm not much of a fan of gender-neutrality.
There are exceptions, though!
Then there are names that I see as conventional for either sex, like Robin and Avery - those aren't "neutral" to me, but "both/either." They have 2 possible genders, in my mind. Like the apparent gender of the name, is induced by the bearer's sex. If I meet a female Robin, her name is a feminine one. But if I meet a male Robin, his name is a masculine one.
There a few that I think are technically gender-neutral, like Vivian and Zephyr and Mackenzie, that I perceive as conventionally at least *kinda* gendered - so that they can more or less clash or harmonize with the bearer's sex. Sometimes I aesthetically like a clash, or I like the unconventional usage more than the clash offends me. But generally I'd hesitate to use them in the unconventional way, because IMO cross-gender names are often actually drawing attention to the bearer's _sex_ in a way that a conventional usage does not. Some people find it sexy ... I usually don't.
My categories applied to your examples:
Unisex / gender-neutral: Harley, October, Winter, Kai, KJ, Vae
Both/either: Robin, Dara
Some conventional gender, but potentially flexible: Charlie, Rowan, Ira, Isa, Valentine, Esa, Rocky, Roan, Zephyr, Ceph, Iocasti, Baran
Gendered, IMV: Farah, Celeste, Fae, Peri (not Perry), Aries, Mars, Muse
- mirfak
This message was edited 9/27/2024, 10:30 AM
