Gender/Sex

Message

peacock2121 · #1 Post by **peacock2121** » Wed Oct 24, 2007 9:43 am

This is what the WHO says:

"Sex” refers to the biological and physiological characteristics that define men and women.

“Gender” refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviors, activities, and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for men and women.

http://www.who.int/gender/whatisgender/en/index.html

gsabc · #2 Post by **gsabc** » Wed Oct 24, 2007 10:00 am

Okay, then I've learned something today. Time to go home.

It still brought to mind the old joke: "I've got three kids. One of each."

Beebs52 · #3 Post by **Beebs52** » Wed Oct 24, 2007 10:09 am

Pea, I mentioned this in a reply on the other thread to Skoop---great book about this subject (really about a hermaphrodite and history and all sorts of good stuff)---Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. I just finished it. Won the Pulitzer. It is a fabu book. Great reading.
Don't seem to be able to post more than fragments today.

peacock2121 · #4 Post by **peacock2121** » Wed Oct 24, 2007 10:10 am

Society can change gender.

Can surgery change sex?

Beebs52 · #5 Post by **Beebs52** » Wed Oct 24, 2007 10:23 am

Not unless you can change the chromosomes around, I would think. You can change the physical characteristics, and I suppose with all the cloning capabilities around someone is messing with the XX's and XY's already.

TheCalvinator24 · #6 Post by **TheCalvinator24** » Wed Oct 24, 2007 12:09 pm

In proper usage, sex refers to a binary choice of male or female.

Gender refers to the spectrum with masculine on one end and feminine on the other.

I said it is a pointless battle because "Gender" has been used as a replacement for "Sex" for so long that people think I'm the weird one for using them in the historically accurate way.

peacock2121 · #7 Post by **peacock2121** » Wed Oct 24, 2007 12:13 pm

LOL - that is the only reason they think you are weird?

If I thought about how many people think I am weird for so many different reasons, I'd have no room in my brain for anything else.

TheCalvinator24 · #8 Post by **TheCalvinator24** » Wed Oct 24, 2007 12:15 pm

peacock2121 wrote:LOL - that is the only reason they think you are weird?

If I thought about how many people think I am weird for so many different reasons, I'd have no room in my brain for anything else.

One of my co-workers thinks it's weird that I am a straight man who loves Broadway show tunes.

gsabc · #9 Post by **gsabc** » Wed Oct 24, 2007 12:21 pm

TheCalvinator24 wrote:One of my co-workers thinks it's weird that I am a straight man who loves Broadway show tunes.

If that's so weird, then how can Broadway musicals make a profit? There can't be THAT many gay men with money living in the NYC area. Or can there?

Call me weird, too, then. A sizable percentage of our CD collection is Broadway original cast soundtracks. And everyone knows you can't succeed on Broadway if you haven't any Jews.