To grit my teeth at the phrase, "gender scan"?

[magneticfield55]

For a start, unless you're paying for one which is specifically for that purpose, it's not. It's a medical scan to check organs etc.

But it's also not a, "gender" scan. All it will tell you is whether your baby has a penis or a vagina. That's it. It'll tell you that they're biologically male or female (intersexuality, androgen insensitivity syndrome etc aside). The inaccuracy of it irritates me. That penis or vagina will probably determine their position in the gender hierarchy, but it's still all we know about them at that point.

I'm a feminist and believe gender is socially constructed, with girls and women at the bottom. So I get really irritated by, "team pink!", "gender reveals". I know it can help us to bond with our bumps, but they're not even born yet and we're already basing our preconceived ideas of who they might be around their gender.

I don't begrudge anyone this, it just annoys me. AIBU?

I have never heard the term gender scan either. Or heard people refer to a baby's 'gender' rather than their sex for that matter. Who uses these terms? Must be fair few people for it to irritate you so.

Why shouldn't this be in aibu Soon? If the OP only posts it on the feminist board she will get a narrower range of replies I should think and perhaps tgat wasn't what she was looking for.

"But who are these people that say gender scan?"

Me too. I've gone through two pregnancies in two different places and have never heard this. Not to say it doesn't happen, but surely most people call it the 20wk scan?

I hate it too. It was at this scan it was discovered that my DGD would not live. Bloody "gender" scan. No.

I'd say roughly 25% ppl say 'can you see/tell me the gender' as opposed to 'is it a boy/girl?', hardly anyone says 'can you tell me the sex?' Or similar. Obviously there's another group of ppl who don't want to know or don't ask.

I've only ever heard people refer to it as the 20 week scan, never even the anomaly scan.

Dido

That's awful so sorry

I believe some of the clinics that seem to promote these photo and 'gender' scans are not the best places to be to discover awful news like that....and at a late term. I find it quite worrying seeing them on Groupon style sites all the time....

Not saying yours was any of the above by the way. It's just something that concerns me.

There are two separate issues on this thread, the ops point about gender vs sex and the idea that the scan is for sexing vs looking for anomalies. Two totally different issues but I think it shows how the term gender is misunderstood generally as it's being used on here where I'm guessing the posters most likely mean sex.

Yanbu to get irritated by people using the word "gender" when they mean "sex" but yabu to get so het up about it.

Fwiw I have never heard anyone refer to a "gender" scan with the exception of a company that does 3D and 4D scans who refer to the scan which is specifically to check for the baby's sex as the "gender scan". They should know better being clinicians that there is a difference between sex and gender.

Purple just because op is implying it is a feminist issue.

Probably by the same people who talk about "females" when they mean "women" titty.

Titty I think it's just the way it's branded. If you google Gender scan you'll see lots of companies use the word gender, some mention both words. But if you've got companies saying gender scan then that's going to follow into discussions.

I'd happily say sexing scan if my scan had been called that, in the grand scheme I don't think it really matters though. At least not to me, I can see why feminists might though.

Thanks only. No, ours was a standard 20 week NHS anomaly scan.

It does however, make me incredibly nervous when I hear cheery parents saying they are "off to find out if this one is team pink or team blue", or deliberating whether to take their existing children in "for a look at their new sibling". You know, there are more important things to find out at 20 weeks.

I just wanted to know on both dc.

It your problem that you had these thoughts and gender stereotype before your baby was born.

Pregnacy 1 was a boy 2nd was a girl.

Never enter my head of any differences I may had.

I find the use of 'gender' rather than 'sex' quite annoying too, not only in scans but I was surprised how much it also irritated me in "it's a ..!" cards after the birth.
My baby is now a month old and although we call him 'he' because of his biological sex, I'm pretty certain that he doesn't actually even have a gender at this point - given that he is still quite uncertain about whose hands are waving around near his face and confused by mirrors I doubt he has processed that there are gender options and honed his sense of self down sufficiently to identify with one yet!

Another one who has never heard the term 'gender scan' despite three pregnancies.

If you frequent other forums you will hear the term gender scan a lot. People mixing up gender and sex don't bother me but I sympathise with sonographers who are doing the serious job of checking for anomalies and all they get asked is what's the gender? I expect being mistaken for a baby photographer is quite frustrating for a medical professional.

I can't see any aggression on this thread.

Agree on both counts OP. It's an anomaly scan. If someone is paying for an extra scan, it's to find out the sex of the baby, not the gender.

BestZebbie, that's how I feel too.

I too have never actually heard anyone use the term 'gender scan'.
I know that technically it is the anomaly scan, but most folk around here just call it the 29 week scan. I guess the word 'anomaly' can be pretty frightening.

YANBU to get annoyed with the whole gender/sex mix up. Probably best just to continue to grit your teeth though.

I'm sorry, you were annoyed by 'it's a boy' cards that you got because you had...a boy?

I could not be bothered to live in your head.

...I think it shows how the term gender is misunderstood generally as it's being used on here where I'm guessing the posters most likely mean sex...

I doubt 90% of the population know or care how feminist theory differentiates between the terms 'sex'' and 'gender'. This is the sort of stuff that makes feminism look pedantic and rarefied.

Hang on, what's with all the "this is why I don't post on the feminist boards. You guys are so aggressive' posts.

I am a feminist. I post on those boards a lot. I happen not to care very much about the technical misuse of the term gender in everyday speach. I would be perfectly happy to post that on FWR and not expect to be shouted down or called a bad feminist. This idea that whenever one person uses the word feminist they automatically are both representative of and speaking for all feminists is just lazy.

But to the substance of the post, I don't care about people saying that they are 'finding out the gender'. I do find it annoying when people say they are having their gender scan when they mean the 20 week/anomaly scan. It's a serious diagnostic tool, not a chance to find out the sex of your baby (though in some areas this is permitted as an incidental of the checks).

You are over thinking it. For the vast majority, the 20 week scan is uneventful, all is well and they are excited to find out whether they are having a girl or a boy. Taking pleasure from 'finding out' is normal. Life can be as happy or as sad as you make it. Cheer up, Love!

Yikes I raise my hand as someone who uses the terms sex and gender interchangeably. Can someone educate me.
Is gender a choice?

PS. Never used or heard anyone else user the term gender scan, always anomaly scan.