New Post
Search
Help
ArchivesRe: I'm not trying to be picky, but the word is *gender* (nt)
in reply to a message by Konrad
Hmm... I always wondered about that and I most admit I always thought that the proper way was to say "gender" and not "sex" for a person.
How does that apply to English?? In English, objects do not have a gender.
How does that apply to English?? In English, objects do not have a gender.
1
Replies
I think...
Throwing myself into this discussion....
"Sex" refers to biology, whereas "gender" refers to society and culture. As in, "the effectiveness of the medication appears to depend on the sex of the patient" verses "peasant societies, gender roles are likely to be more clearly defined". (Examples taken from Dictionary.com.)
"Gender" also, I think, refers to what sex the person considers him/herself to be. For example, a male to female transexual would be male biologically, and so his (her?) sex would be male, but mentally he would be female, so his gender would be female. If that makes sense.
Miranda
Throwing myself into this discussion....
"Sex" refers to biology, whereas "gender" refers to society and culture. As in, "the effectiveness of the medication appears to depend on the sex of the patient" verses "peasant societies, gender roles are likely to be more clearly defined". (Examples taken from Dictionary.com.)
"Gender" also, I think, refers to what sex the person considers him/herself to be. For example, a male to female transexual would be male biologically, and so his (her?) sex would be male, but mentally he would be female, so his gender would be female. If that makes sense.
Miranda
1
Oh, and...
So, Ivayla was right in this case. "Gender" is the correct term, because names are, when you get down to it, are simply sounds we make to identify a person. Names can't have a sex, although I still firmly believe that male (meaning gender) names like James should be kept for males, not given to females, and visa versa. I guess that's a bit hypocritical, but oh well.
Miranda
So, Ivayla was right in this case. "Gender" is the correct term, because names are, when you get down to it, are simply sounds we make to identify a person. Names can't have a sex, although I still firmly believe that male (meaning gender) names like James should be kept for males, not given to females, and visa versa. I guess that's a bit hypocritical, but oh well.
Miranda
1