To think that MN has become infested...

[BetweenDogandWolf]

...with people who don't understand the difference between gender and sex?

Well there's a few, I'll give you that.

YANBU at all. Not just on here either. I had to explain it to my son's teacher, a social worker and several family members recently too.

What is the difference?

Yep. I tend to write a post explaining it when I see it which makes people think I'm a bit of a wanker.

What is the difference?

Holding my hand up in ignorance! What is the difference? I assume (and please tell me if I'm wrong) that one is what you are genetically and the other is what you choose?!

does it really matter? does it really come up much in real life?

I've managed to train people at work to correct themselves in my presence.

'I know, I know, gender is a social construct'.

Come on then, OP. Please enlighten us so that we won't make the same mistake again. TIA

Yes, it does matter.

I know the difference, but does it really, seriously matter?

Of course it matters, most obviously to people whose self-determined gender doesn't match their chromosomal makeup.

What a stupid post. People get it. But ystrdy i read a poster, who put up her baby's scan picture in exxcitement, chastised for using gender instead of sex. That was fucking ridiculous imo.

Yes, it's a difference that matters.

Take an example: post puberty, many sports are segregated by sex (because of the biological differences). OTOH, in US you'd say soccer is a sport primarily for girls whereas in UK you'd say for boys. This isn't related to the actual sex of the players, but to the expectations of how each gender will behave in a particulat culture.

Sex is the biological characteristics that make you male or female. Gonads, chromosomes, breasts, body fat, skeletal size etc.
gender is the associated identity that develops through socialisation and which is believed by sometimes be innate (girls brains v boys brains) and by others to be a social construct

It matters because gender determinism is limiting and prescriptive and is the cause of many of the ills of the world. Imo.

I refer to people as whatever they have chosen to identify as. It rarely comes up in that context on here though, Maid.

But it so often comes up when someone has posted about being excited about their new baby and it is a bit like the posts where someone comments merely to point out a spelling mistake.

It adds nothing, is snippy and makes the person doing it look a bit joyless.

Isn't the world full of people who don't know the difference? You even hear it from BBC broadcasters and journalists, I mean. I am 'lucky' in being married to the most pedantic man on earth so he makes sure we all get points like that.

I get that it matters. But Tbo I thought the term infested in the thread title was a bit offensive. The poor guy on the parallel thread only asked for opinions on his wife's scan regarding girl/boy possibilities based on nub theory. I really don't think he meant to cause any offence.

Gah, DH will leave me cos I can't post grammatically and state my points clearly on MN- I meant even the BBC has people who don't know the difference so use the terms wrongly.

Well, I do agree that correcting terminology on baby scan threads has quite a different purpose to doing so on 'Shall I buy DD a truck?' threads.

Well what is the difference then. (part of the infestation)

Sex is biology; gender is performance.

Gender performance = how someone socially and culturally performs within society according, or with reference, to their biological sex and/or notions of femininity or masculinity.

The confusion has occurred because people began to use "gender" as a substitute for "sex" because, you know, sex is sex and conjures up images of bonking.

Sex are what posh people get their coal in.