Apologies if this has been done to death, but when did the word sex become gender?

Perhaps we should all identify as dogs. Would that make life easier?

My daughter did that for about 6 months when she was a preschooler. Not good for the knees of her tights and trousers.

Are dogs doing genital inspections when they sniff each other's rear ends? My young dog is very interested in the backend of every other dog he meets. I am plotting to have him castrated in the hope he will become more civilised. He will still be a male dog though.
Perhaps we should all identify as dogs. Would that make life easier?

knowing the shape of someone's genitals/hormonal profile/chromosomes is totally irrelevant and an invasion of privacy

Yeah... Mmkay, but we (and dogs and babies) can tell someone's sex within seconds just by looking at their face. No "genital inspections" required.

The sex of a person is rarely irrelevant, it's literally how we procreate and how we all navigate our lives.
Gender, (femininity or masculinity) however is a great big cloud of indefinable woo woo that only the true believers understand and even they can't explain it honestly.

In fairness I think years ago people were happy to accept the word 'gender' as meaning 'sex' however that has now changed. When my DS was at primary we had a sex ed talk and the teacher referred to gender, I asked afterwards why she didn't use sex and she said that they used gender to make it clear they are not talking about the actual act of sex.

Anyway if I ever have to go into hospital I will be telling the nurses I don't have a gender and that my sex is female. When I complete forms for bookings etc, like I did today, where the field is labelled 'gender' I put 'unknown' or 'prefer not to say' for all my family. I do appreciate in a medical setting it is important they know the sex I am however I will make it clear that I am an adult human female. The more we ignore and just accept this the worse it's going to get, it's like we are enabling the change.

I don't remember using the word gender much if at all in the 1970s and early 80s, but I definitely remember talking and reading about sex-stereotyping - which I consider synonymous with 'gender'.

"We suggest consideration of the following questions: How can I be clear? How can I include the people who should be included and exclude the people who should be excluded? How can I ensure that people understand what I mean and can readily recognize themselves? How can I avoid dehumanizing language? Does it make sense to apply a gendered understanding of words or a sexed understanding? Am I engaging in cultural imperialism or improper use of privilege by requiring others to use language in a particular way? How does language usage support or undermine the rights of women and children?"

I'm just longing for the opportunity to accuse someone of cultural imperialism and improper use of privilege.

Janina I am not mathematically gifted, and I keep looking at your post and it's blowing my mind!

Me too! I think I've come across this trick question before but I'm going to have to get the daughter to spell it out for me.

OP another nurse here.
If you haven't seen this paper then you need it. It's brilliant. I've printed copies off to put on the noticeboard in the staff room, sent it to my manager and one of the consultants, posted it on the hospital intranet whilst pointing out the incorrect use of gender in relation to a message about cancer services. (I added examples of sex based cancers and pointed out cancer wasn't interested in gender). I made sure to give a copy to my daughter's friend heading back to uni to study global public health policy.

It's like a passport. I'm determined to push back on this gender neutral language wherever possible. In fact I sent a copy to Sajid David and to Amanda Pritchard who is the new head of NHS England just this week.

Make good use of it.

https://internal-journal.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fgwh.2022.818856/full?fbclid=IwAR1GmMyg9yC58i3SargXSSpsw1NgaVoD6raB8cz40YuEgx9VxFTr5A4m4OQ

But gender is how people tend to interact with society, so it makes sense that it's being used more often. There's certainly a time and place for knowing about the sex of a person (like in a medical setting), but by and large, knowing the shape of someone's genitals/hormonal profile/chromosomes is totally irrelevant and an invasion of privacy.

You can search on Google the usage of words. I think gender started gaining traction in the 60s.

The change of definition seems to stem from John Money.

Perhaps Ruth Bader Ginsburg:

www.npr.org/2020/09/24/916377135/pathmarking-the-way-ruth-bader-ginsburgs-lifelong-fight-for-gender-equality?t=1647433899682

Sadly the Gender Pay Gap regulations incorrectly uses gender, it should be the sex pay gap

It also presents the data as 'how much less women earn than men' rather than 'how much more men earn than women'. This minimises the difference (e.g. if a woman earns £80 a day and a man earns £100 she earns 20% less than him but he earns 25% more than her).

Historically sex and gender as words were used interchangeably as most people thought they were the same thing. Obviously in some settings they were used appropriately.

Gender was often seen as a more polite word for sex.

It is only in the last 5-10 years that the definition of each word has become important along with the need to use them correctly.

Fortunately the sex discrimination act and subsequent Equality Act correctly use sex. Sadly the Gender Pay Gap regulations incorrectly uses gender, it should be the sex pay gap. Although the actual instructions are clear to use sex.

I know I am guilty of conflating the two words, but I am trying really hard to use sex correctly. There is a lot of pressure to make gender more important than sex hence the push to eradicate certain words e.g. sex, woman etc.

It is therefore important to use the word appropriately.

It annoys me too. Find myself yelling 'Sex' in my head.

I do challenge people, just as I challenge those who say someone has 'passed' rather than has died

I noticed it several years ago as a US import for the parties were 'gender' is revealed. I thought it was the Americans can be a bit prudish about the word 'sex' and to be fair a 'Sex reveal' party dose have some dodgy connotations.....