Sex isn’t a dirty word

[CircleSquareCircleSquare]

There are so many arguments in feminiam surrounding trans/self ID issues and even the pay gap etc. and a good chunk of them become muddied and confused by the confusion between the words sex and gender.

For years now people have been using gender as a polite way to say sex. People seem to think sex is a dirty word, it only relates to shagging in the minds of a great many people.

Does anyone else agree that we need to reclaim the word sex?
Say it loud, say it proud - sex is not a dirty word!

I hear you. This was explained very clearly to us at school in the 1970s and we were told the only time you should use the word gender was when studying foreign languages. When did it change?

I think things like the 20 week pregnancy scan being co-opted as a “finding out the sex (swiftly changed to gender over the years) scan” and generally discussing the sexes and the differences and inequalities between us led to a lot of people being uncomfortable with the language involved. As soon as one person finds a “prettier” word (or indeed one that they think makes them look smarter) for something they consider vulgar it becomes peppered in language and other people adopt it.

During school and university the difference between the two was hammered into us and even still I hear doctors I trained with using “gender” as a polite way to describe sex to patients.

Let’s talk about sex baby
Let’s talk about you and me
Let’s talk about all the differences there may be
Let’s talk about sex

Sex is not a dirty word.

YY. I make a point of saying "sex". It's important.

It's become a hobby of mine to cross out gender and replace with sex on forms. I don't know what I would do with myself if it changed.

I wish we could reach more people with this.
It is so, so important that the difference between sex and gender is spoken about.
It is so important that we aren’t afraid to explicitly talk about our sex and the shitty end of the stick we get because of it.

Sex is not a dirty word. I’m going to keep saying it.

I deliberately use the word sex rather than gender these days. I also cross out gender on forms and write sex! Interestingly I recently filled out a passport application form for my DD and it asks for the sex of the applicant, but on the actual passport I think they use gender.

Think of the mum in "Miranda" who can't even say the word out loud when there's just the two of them.... It's a very English coyness thing

I listened to the trans revolution program on Radio 4 the other day and half the time I wasn't sure if they meant sex or gender - it was just gender for everything. FFS

I deliberately use the word sex too.

It's the correct term.

I do this as I see gender being an identity uou are welcome to choose/ are comfortable with , sex is linked to the genitals you were born with/ have.

if more of us keep using sex where they put gender, people will start to reflect.... I agree - reclaiming it is CRUCIAL

Perhaps we should make a point of using gender for everything instead? Might make the point

I wanna gender you up

Gender bomb

I'm too gendery

I listened to the trans revolution program on Radio 4 the other day and half the time I wasn't sure if they meant sex or gender - it was just gender for everything.

Yes it makes articles, reports and even basic conversation hard to follow.

some of us have only learned the difference fairly recently. I had noticed some posters putting other people right but it never really stuck. It is not something one is taught, as a pp said. It is true that people think it is a polite way to say sex, possibly due to it being on forms.

don't feel sheepish!
I think you have to be either
old, or
a social scientist, or
a second wave feminist
to have grasped and retained the difference

Or an actual scientist!

It’s the one thing I am now doing in everyday life: correcting the use of gender to “sex”.

mmm, when do 'actual scientists' need to use the word gender?

mmm, when do 'actual scientists' need to use the word gender?
When talking about gender stereotypes putting girls off physics etc

And when setting up their MN profiles....hmph.

It is the journalist style books that tend to disseminate the changes that government agencies make. I recall the rage I felt in the eighties when personnel became human resources. WE ARE NOT THINGS!

I listened to the trans revolution program on Radio 4 the other day and half the time I wasn't sure if they meant sex or gender - it was just gender for everything

Yes it was very confusing. The BBC seem to have decided to replace the word 'sex' with 'gender', much in the way they have changed BC to BCE on all their programmes (and I have heard academics say that there has been no decision anywhere that has decided that we have a 'common era' or whatever).

All the contributors say 'gender' instead of sex. It is more confusing than the BC stuff, because the two terms have subtly different meanings, even in the non academic world.

We do live in an increasingly squeamish society.

A hospice doesn't want to be known as the place where people go to die even though the dying will carry on dying there

And God/Goddess forbid anyone remind meat eaters about what happens to get slabs of cow or chucken on their plates

So not saying the S-word? Nah. People won't do that......

I definitely got the cats bum mouth when i said "sex reveal party" to describe an event a friend had been to

It's interesting, I work in equal pay so talking about sex as a protected characteristic is inevitable. I point out that gender relates to reassignment only in the Equality Act. No-one needs to use gender.

mmm, when do 'actual scientists' need to use the word gender?

As a former 'actual scientist' who now edits medical/biology papers for a living, I am constantly changing 'gender' to 'sex' in the papers I edit (and telling the authors why). Most of the authors have first languages other than English, so it definitely isn't an English coyness thing. I think it's just either a) poor education (there are 'actual scientists' and 'actual scientists' you know ) or b) sloppy use of language.