September 16, 2008
dear clusterflock
Does it bother you when people use ’sex’ when they mean ‘gender’?
Update: Does it bother you when people ask questions based on incorrect assumptions about language? 
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22 Responses to “dear clusterflock”
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Actually, I see the opposite most often–people who use “gender” when they mean “sex.” Sex refers to biological maleness or femaleness. Gender refers to the psychological or cultural attributes associated with maleness or femaleness.
It bothers me when they use sex when an inexpensive gift would have sufficed.
well fuck me running.
Update: Does it bother you when people ask questions based on incorrect assumptions about language?
Sometimes yes, sometimes no–and in this case, no. The sex/gender issue is one I expect to change over the course of time, as people continue to use “gender” to denote sex. For some reason, this (very common) confusion doesn’t bother me, while a misplaced apostrophe can launch me into a hissy fit.
I love it that our language-related pet peeves are often bizarre and/or esoteric. Our daughter goes apoplectic if she sees “Ice Tea” rather than “Iced Tea.” People who say “sherbert” instead of “sherbet” incite me to violence. (Fuck you, Tracy.) It’s all very strange and amusing to me.
In what respect, Charlie?
people who say religion, when they mean denomination make me grumpy. I thought that my understanding of gender / sex was the same.
I hadn’t really considered the difference. I suppose this makes me one of THEM.
On the language issue, I think knowing etymology and “proper usage” is just another bit of learning that makes interpreting the world easier. But language evolves; who am I to yell at folks for their misplaced apostrophe’s.
I hope Cindy doesn’t know where you live.
she totally does.
I meant Mike Dresser and his apostrophe,
in that case, she totally does.
The old sex/gender distinction. Always a good one to liven up a party, particularly when there are a few transgenders in the room.
This’ll have to be quick–I’ve just made a pit stop to change my diaper on the drive to Florida. Gotta run.
Mike! Run!
RUN!
Ooh, Mike. You got less than eighteen hours.
Oooo! Sherbert.
I have language-related peeves but I find that they’re as inconsistent as I am.
At a flea market in Kentucky I saw a sign that read:
“Make and offer. We won’t to sale it.”
My predisposition would normally be toward minor stroke but I actually fell in love with the sign in this case. Go figure.
Tracy, a similar impulse propelled me toward a serious crush on a sign in Milwaukee. A Korean restaurant, as I recall, featuring both carry-out and table service.
“TAKE IT OR EAT IT.”
Said to myself, I’m loving it either way.
1. This being my first trip to Florida, I’ve always wondered if a person could feel the dick shape of the state. The answer is yes.
2. For me, I think the difference between stroke inducement and delight lies in the attitude or position of the offender. The examples Tracy and Sheila give are just delightful–only a pedantic asshole would get upset over those. The same is true of most language errors, now that I think of it. I tend to get upset mostly when I think the offender should know better–errors in textbooks, that sort of thing. Of course, this doesn’t go for anyone who says sherbert, or mischievious, or who refers to beauty being it’s own reward. Those people can all go fuck themselves.
Cindy, thank you for comment one! I never knew that gender was sociological rather than biological. It kind of changes how one sees things, no?
(And Charlotte Bronte, by the way, in 1853’s Villette, used the word sex to mean male or female.)
I’m quaking in my boots, waiting for Cindy to come ‘cross yonder vein, er, hill.
Eh, I got tired of looking and split for Cuba.
Viva la revolucion!