[lit-ideas] Re: grades & kleenex
- From: "Judith Evans" <judithevans001@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 7 May 2004 23:59:28 +0100
> My
> confusion is: whether it has always been ok to use "sex" when "gender"
> is a more appropriate word, or if "gender" is just a pomo term, exiling
> "sex" to the act. Is it a question of (modern) usage or is one truly
> preferred??
I don't know what you mean by truly preferred. Way back when second-wave
feminism began, and indeed, before that, everybody used "sex"/"the sexes"
to refer to the fact that there were two, er, sexes. Cf _The Second Sex_.)
"Gender", then, referred to (and, "gender", then, refers to) the social
constructs of "woman" and "man". This is now thought by feminists (except
for me...) to be hopelessly passe. But the reasons for this have nothing
whatsoever to do with the fact that "sex" is also used as shorthand for
sexual intercourse. (Over here people say "wanna fuck?", but I accept that
over there, people may say "do you want to have sex?".)
Talking of over there and over here... the actor in Scoobydoo was on one of
our main chat shows tonight; nice man; he wasn't used to our quaint customs
like guests sitting around boozing together, and he arrived "on stage"
*hammered*.
Back to sex and sex. I see no need for confusion. I'd say it's obvious
that laws that promote sexual equality aren't about the right of individual
A to "have as much sex" as individual B. As for "gender" as a pomo term,
well, as my mini-drone suggests, "gender" as a non-grammatical term is
hardly new.
Are you winding me up? That isn't a hostile question. I thought people knew
about the basic sex-gender usage/s, if not about the more arcane aspects of
the more recent stuff.
If this is a bit frivolous, it's because I'm still thinking (benignly)
about ScoobyDoo's hammered friend.
Judy Evans
jaye@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> -----Original Message-----
> From: lit-ideas-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> [mailto:lit-ideas-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Steven G. Cameron
> Sent: 07 May 2004 20:25
> To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: grades & kleenex
>
>
>
> **Is someone identified by sex (not gender) or engage in it?? My
> confusion is: whether it has always been ok to use "sex" when "gender"
> is a more appropriate word, or if "gender" is just a pomo term, exiling
> "sex" to the act. Is it a question of (modern) usage or is one truly
> preferred??
>
> TC,
>
> /Steve Cameron, NJ
>
> Judith Evans wrote:
>
> >>**Is it acceptable to use "gender" and "sex" as synonyms
> >>(interchangeably)??
> >
> >
> >
> > No. I take the (old-fashioned) view that sex is a designation based on
> > biology, gender a social construct. But when I talk about
> grammar I do say
> > "gender" as that is customary. Mea culpa?
> >
> >
> > Judy Evans
> > jaye@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> >
> >
> >>-----Original Message-----
> >>From: lit-ideas-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> >>[mailto:lit-ideas-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Steven G. Cameron
> >>Sent: 07 May 2004 19:42
> >>To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> >>Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: grades & kleenex
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>Paul Stone wrote:
> >>
> >>
> >>>At 02:07 PM 5/7/2004, you wrote:
> >>
> >>>>But I didn't know we knew the teacher's sex.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>**Is it acceptable to use "gender" and "sex" as synonyms
> >>(interchangeably)??
> >>
> >>TC,
> >>
> >>/Steve Cameron, NJ
> >>
> >>
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> >
> >
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