thread: 2006-04-17 : Roleplaying with someone...
On 2006-04-18, Avram wrote:
Meg, I bristle a bit at the claim that the sociological definitions of sex and gender are the only "correct" ones. They're certainly useful in some contexts, but an ordinary person is well within his or her rights to use the words as synonyms in ordinary conversation. Better to say "Here's a distinction drawn by people who think about these topics a lot" then to say "No, you're using it wrong".
Holy crap, I'm just grammarian boy these days. Tedious Pedantry, 3d8.
Hey, Vincent: You play with your penis, you play with your heart—one more body part and you can replace the stats in AG&G.
This makes MB go ""
Yeah, I see your point. And, knowing that there is a difference is important for clear communication.
This makes XP go "I disagree"
A person who doesn't know the difference should be told. Otherwise they're perpetuating the myth that gender is absolute, and that leads to all sorts of crap. Of course, you're not going to get much of a positive response if you're telling people "You're wrong," I think it can be done much more diplomatically, with a discussion instead of a lecture.
This makes JCL go "gender IS absolute"
Sex is physiological, gender is grammatical. Gender has no connection to sex at all and only refers to how words change in different contexts.
I don't buy the idea of gender as mental construct at all, because although sexuality influences mental development, it does so in a potentially infinite number of ways.
This makes XP go "Obviously"
This is a discussion much too large for marginalia. Yet I don't see how you can reject the fact that there are gender roles in society. "Women belong at home in the kitchen." Ever heard that one? Ever look at history and see that women have been given certain roles by society not based on who they were individually but purely because they were women? Gender is not a mental construct, it's a CULTURAL construct.
