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This letter to the editor appeared in the NYT over thirty years ago: To the Editor: The term "gender" is increasingly misused as a substitute for "sex." Does

by js2 4y ago

This letter to the editor appeared in the NYT over thirty years ago: To the Editor: The term "gender" is increasingly misused as a substitute for "sex." Does "gender" appear to reflect a greater sophistication, or reluctance to use a term with a possible indecent connotation? "The Gender Gulf" by Louis Harris (Op-Ed, Dec. 7) misuses the term three times (not counting the headline), including this: "the generation gap is less evident and the gender gap more acute." Among the same day's letters, one ("Sexism on Sesame St.") misuses gender five times including "gender imbalance." "The Careful Writer: A Modern Guide to English Usage" by Theodore M. Bernstein (New York, 1965) states, "gender is a grammatical term, denoting (in English) whether words pertaining to a noun or pronoun are classed as masculine, feminine or neuter. It is not a substitute for 'sex' (but then, what is?). Indeed, in some foreign languages 'gender' often disregards sex. In German, for example, 'Weib,' The word for woman, is neuter; in French 'plume,' the word for pen, a sexless article, is feminine. To use 'gender' as if it were synonymous with 'sex' is an error, and a particularly unpardonable one in scientific writing." From Fowler's "Modern English Usage" edited by Sir Ernest Gowers (Oxford, second edition, 1965): "Gender, n., is a grammatical term only. To talk of 'persons' or 'creatures of the masculine or feminine gender,' meaning 'of the male or female sex,' is either a jocularity (permissible or not according to context) or a blunder." I can only assume you have elected to permit this misuse, despite a valid and useful distinction between the terms. SIDNEY WEINSTEIN Danbury, Conn., Dec. 10, 1990 The writer is editor in chief, International Journal of Neuroscience. https://archive.ph/2020.06.11-213210/https://www.nytimes.com/1990/12/27/opinion/l-gender-can-t-replace-sex-but-what-can-667090.html https://archive.ph/2020.06.11-213210/https://www.nytimes.com... Here's William Safire talking about it in 1984 ("On Language; Goodbye Sex, Hello Gender"): https://archive.ph/2022.07.07-142246/https://www.nytimes.com/1984/08/05/magazine/on-language-goodbye-sex-hello-gender.html https://archive.ph/2022.07.07-142246/https://www.nytimes.com...

jcheng 4y ago
I've never heard that "gender" is a grammatical term only, it got me interested enough to search up the word in some older dictionaries. Webster's 1828: https://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/gender https://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/gender Webster's 1913: https://www.websters1913.com/words/Gender https://www.websters1913.com/words/Gender Both include "sex, male or female" as a definition; the 1913 marks it as "[Obs. or Colloq.]" while the 1828 does not.
- ksaj 4y ago
  It makes sense to note that they were written at a time when your sex and your gender were considered the same thing, and any deviation was absolutely taboo. Also consider the word "homosexual" didn't yet exist in 1828, although it did by 1913. That's how language changes over time. Incidentally, we don't have the concept of "homogender" and "heterogender" to this day - at least in English. I can't speak for other languages. This also demonstrates a clear difference between "sex" and "gender."

by js2 4y ago

jcheng 4y ago

I've never heard that "gender" is a grammatical term only, it got me interested enough to search up the word in some older dictionaries. Webster's 1828: https://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/gender https://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/gender Webster's 1913: https://www.websters1913.com/words/Gender https://www.websters1913.com/words/Gender Both include "sex, male or female" as a definition; the 1913 marks it as "[Obs. or Colloq.]" while the 1828 does not.

ksaj 4y ago
It makes sense to note that they were written at a time when your sex and your gender were considered the same thing, and any deviation was absolutely taboo. Also consider the word "homosexual" didn't yet exist in 1828, although it did by 1913. That's how language changes over time. Incidentally, we don't have the concept of "homogender" and "heterogender" to this day - at least in English. I can't speak for other languages. This also demonstrates a clear difference between "sex" and "gender."