3 ms·

We can't just throw something like "you confuse the concepts of X and Y" like that. This whole sex vs gender this is absolutely new to the world, so we can't ju

by zo1 3y ago

We can't just throw something like "you confuse the concepts of X and Y" like that. This whole sex vs gender this is absolutely new to the world, so we can't just expect people to know it much less agree with it. I may be ignorant of history on some pedantic definitional level, but every single thing I know or am aware when it comes to this topic is that there have always been two of this "thing" whatever you want to call it, barring small odd cases or medical conditions. Two. Likewise, sex and gender were always seen as one in the same and interchangeable. This is very much a new, modern thing that's been thrown into the mix. And don't get me wrong, everyone should have the right to express themselves freely as long as they don't hurt others. But this whole "gender" being something different to sex seems very much a spanner thrown in the works to confuse and back something as being "fundamental" as if it's needed in the fight for equal rights for the affected individuals. Whether a person gets to act as the other sex/gender is irrelevant, they are a human being and get rights as such.

esarbe 3y ago
> sex and gender were always seen as one in the same and interchangeable Various cultures always have had different norms and rules for the sexes. What might appear manly manly in one culture might seem effeminate in another culture. Just see how makeup was considered manly in ancient Persia and how it was ridiculed as woman-ish in Greece. There have always been different interpretations and manifestations of what it means "to be a man" or "to be a woman" - that's gender. Some cultures - like some native American people - recognize expressions of sexual identity disconnected from their biological sex. So no; sex and gender were not "always seen as one in the same and interchangeable". I agree that sex/gender are irrelevant and that every human has the same rights as every other. Including the right to not be discriminated against based on sex/gender.
implements 3y ago
> Likewise, sex and gender were always seen as one and the same and interchangeable. They’re often used interchangeably, but they’re two separate concepts: Sex is the body’s reproductive role - males produce sperm and inseminate females who produce ova and gestate fertilised eggs into mini-humans. Gender is a set of socially constructed stereotypes concerning how men and women should generally look, think, act and feel - traditionally men are masculine and women feminine. At least in the UK 2nd wave feminism sought to reject gender on the basis that it was sexist (discriminated between the sexes) in a way that limited and harmed particularly female people as individuals, but also males. They saw gender as part of a masculine / patriarchal (rule of the father) system of female oppression. I won’t write an essay (not what HNs is about) but that’s why some people have issues with gender being used as a synonym for sex.

by zo1 3y ago

esarbe 3y ago

> sex and gender were always seen as one in the same and interchangeable Various cultures always have had different norms and rules for the sexes. What might appear manly manly in one culture might seem effeminate in another culture. Just see how makeup was considered manly in ancient Persia and how it was ridiculed as woman-ish in Greece. There have always been different interpretations and manifestations of what it means "to be a man" or "to be a woman" - that's gender. Some cultures - like some native American people - recognize expressions of sexual identity disconnected from their biological sex. So no; sex and gender were not "always seen as one in the same and interchangeable". I agree that sex/gender are irrelevant and that every human has the same rights as every other. Including the right to not be discriminated against based on sex/gender.

implements 3y ago

> Likewise, sex and gender were always seen as one and the same and interchangeable. They’re often used interchangeably, but they’re two separate concepts: Sex is the body’s reproductive role - males produce sperm and inseminate females who produce ova and gestate fertilised eggs into mini-humans. Gender is a set of socially constructed stereotypes concerning how men and women should generally look, think, act and feel - traditionally men are masculine and women feminine. At least in the UK 2nd wave feminism sought to reject gender on the basis that it was sexist (discriminated between the sexes) in a way that limited and harmed particularly female people as individuals, but also males. They saw gender as part of a masculine / patriarchal (rule of the father) system of female oppression. I won’t write an essay (not what HNs is about) but that’s why some people have issues with gender being used as a synonym for sex.