brad@looking.UUCP (Brad Templeton) (12/13/83)
A note for people interested in correct use of the language: I am surprised by all the people who keep using the word "gender" to mean "the sex of a person". The primary definition of gender refers to the classification of words in a language, not people. Some definitions of the word say that it has an informal use to describe the sex of a person, but this use is normally humourous. People are now using the word in a serious tone, and this is wrong. The word "sex" is the correct word. The only reason I can imagine for people not using it would be shame over the fact that sex is a short form for sexual relations. I hope most people are not bothered by this. Remember. The word "princess" is of the female gender. Princess Diana is of the female sex. -- Brad Templeton - Waterloo, Ontario (519) 886-7304
klick@ihuxu.UUCP (12/17/83)
According to Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary (copyright
1981), the primary meaning of 'gender' is SEX (it's a
synonym) - the secondary meaning has to do with word usage.
Sounds like we're using the word correctly to me.
Vickie Klick AT&T Bell Laboratories ihnp4!ihuxu!klickjohnt@tekecs.UUCP (John Theus) (12/17/83)
Webster is not always right. In the field of psychology, the words sex and gender are not synonyms. A person's sex is determined by their chromosomes. A person's sex is either male or female. A person's gender is thought to be determined by a combination of their environment and their genes. A person's gender is either woman or man. Obviously, for most people, their sex and gender match. For people with gender identification problems (transsexuals), their sex does not match their gender. John Theus Engineering Computing Systems Tektronix, Inc tektronix!tekecs!johnt