#1 2009-07-05 10:10:19
Machine translated from the Swedish
The gist is, these parents are raising their child gender-neutral. They won't tell anyone the gender of the child,
The "sex is a social construction" people are fucking balls-out crazy. Whenever I encounter someone who uses the term "heteronormative" in a non-ironic fashion, I turn and run like hell.
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#2 2009-07-06 01:58:41
No, the notion that gender - not sex - is a social construct is sound. These parents are bat shit fucking goofballs who are doing more to put their offspring into psychoanalysis than any sort of ideology.
My mother was a feminist (she's not much of anything now, being dead) and brought me up with the idea that people could be anything or do anything they wanted and that gender should have nothing to do with it. A girl doesn't have to wear dresses or want to be a nurse or be a mommy if she chooses not to, or she can do all those things and that's cool, too. More important, to me at any rate, it also applies to men. I don't have to be a football totin', gun slingin' doctor just because I'm male. As it happens, I do like guns although I don't play sports (I do like baseball and hockey, but only to watch), and I have no intention of becoming a nurse or a doctor, although I did the EMT thing for a brief period in my life. Oh, and I have sex with other men.
I suppose I could blame my mother for all that.
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#3 2009-07-06 07:57:58
While some of the social expectations based on gender are screwed up, whether you are male or female isn’t a “social construct”. Gender isn’t some fucked up relic of “patriarchy”; it’s real and it's a major force in shaping your personality. Pop is going to have serious mental issues and shame issues around its gender, because its gender is a taboo subject it isn’t allowed to discuss.
Last edited by fnord (2009-07-06 07:59:23)
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#4 2009-07-06 09:27:23
Taint wrote:
Oh, and I have sex with other men.
You lost me right here.
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#5 2009-07-06 10:46:53
Is EVERYONE GAY?!? (said in my best Joan Cusack voice)
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#6 2009-07-06 11:37:31
ptah13 wrote:
Is EVERYONE GAY?!? (said in my best Joan Cusack voice)
I could never quite get the lisp down. Need-Less to say, my Joan Cusack imitation seriously sucks.
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#7 2009-07-06 13:53:34
fnord wrote:
While some of the social expectations based on gender are screwed up, whether you are male or female isn’t a “social construct”. Gender isn’t some fucked up relic of “patriarchy”; it’s real and it's a major force in shaping your personality. Pop is going to have serious mental issues and shame issues around its gender, because its gender is a taboo subject it isn’t allowed to discuss.
That I agree with: as it happens, I like being male and I have little doubt the odd, biological intricacies of one's sex go a long way in shaping one's personality. Gender, however, is a social construct, even when taking into account the roles that have developed around sex. As a shallow example: women as gatherers and men as hunters. If women were responsible for children, it made sense for them to work as gatherer.
Much of what we do is delineated by gender constructs, right on down to sexual orientation. Gay hairdresser? No one bats an eyelid. Gay construction worker? Perfectly OK, but it still draws a quick note of surprise. Straight guy as high powered business exec? Why would anyone be surprised? A woman? Still draws a bit of a double take. Stay-at-home dads? Same thing.
As an interesting side note, the American Heritage Dictionary (a bleeding heart liberal dictionary if ever there were one) adds this to its definition of gender:
Usage Note: Traditionally, gender has been used primarily to refer to the grammatical categories of "masculine," "feminine," and "neuter," but in recent years the word has become well established in its use to refer to sex-based categories, as in phrases such as gender gap and the politics of gender. This usage is supported by the practice of many anthropologists, who reserve sex for reference to biological categories, while using gender to refer to social or cultural categories. According to this rule, one would say The effectiveness of the medication appears to depend on the sex (not gender) of the patient, but In peasant societies, gender (not sex) roles are likely to be more clearly defined. This distinction is useful in principle, but it is by no means widely observed, and considerable variation in usage occurs at all levels.
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#8 2009-07-06 14:06:45
Taint, what about a stay at home mom business executive?
I need my own penis.
Seriously, though, even though I do all the stuff required of my gender, I am absolutely equal to my man. I cook, he cooks. I run the business, he runs the business. When we're both around, we both parent the same way.
I do clean more, but that's because I'm the one here to do it, and he works his ASS off. It's the least I can do.
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#9 2009-07-06 14:11:55
Who wears the strap-on?
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#10 2009-07-06 14:14:26
orangeplus wrote:
Who wears the strap-on?
Mr. Sofie, of course. He's compensating.
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#11 2009-07-06 14:20:24
orangeplus wrote:
Who wears the strap-on?
You do.
*dies laughing*
Really, though. Gender equality is a non-issue to me and my friends in their 30s.
One of my favorite standing play dates is with a Mr. Mom.
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#13 2009-07-06 23:00:35
sofaking wrote:
Taint, what about a stay at home mom business executive?
I need my own penis.
Seriously, though, even though I do all the stuff required of my gender, I am absolutely equal to my man. I cook, he cooks. I run the business, he runs the business. When we're both around, we both parent the same way.
I do clean more, but that's because I'm the one here to do it, and he works his ASS off. It's the least I can do.
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised... Sofie, reading this makes be very, very happy. Bless yer cotton socks!
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