I don't think there is a such thing as opposite gender because there are more than two genders and I see them as all on equal footing. "So if there is an opposite what is it opposite to?" is what I'm getting at.
Good point. I wonder if 'gender' can be opposite to anything. I am technically 'opposite' to my brother and my dad but I am the same as my brother and dad in the sense that we all fancy women. My brother is the 'opposite' to Dad because my brother doesn't drink alcohol and my Dad does. I am more like Dad in that respect because I do. I don't feel more or less affinity with one gender or several, I just like people or don't. But gender is still a powerful force in terms of market forces and advertising, in such a sense that is relevant to all sorts of people. Why is our advertising still so obviously gendered, for example? (Even Etch-a-Sketches have little girls drawing flowers and little boys drawing cars). I think much of gender is historical and not now relevant.
I guess it depends on how you're defining gender. If we're talking gender roles, identities, spectrums... sure.
I dunno, my leanings and proclivities seem to hinge on opposites--the more so, the better. A world with no dynamic to gender seems unfathomably sad to me. I seem to thrive (or, at least, function) on dimorphism. I can't seem to be just male, I also have to be completely dominant and forceful, or my grasp of masculinity becomes very tenuous and angst-ridden. Similarly, my female side seems to want to be utterly girly (dainty, frilly tastes), with an irresistible desire to submit and please, otherwise she just wants to completely cower and hide. Somehow, I seem to have, on my accord, developed this interpretation of maculinity and femininity. Pretty broken?
Mostly, society has determined what is typically masculine and feminine, and it varies by location and culture, too. It's a normative sort of thing. I've never given it much thought. People just sort of land somewhere on that spectrum, with few being completely masculine or being completely feminine. If this is not what the OP is asking, then I'm not getting it.
I guess what I'm getting at is that I find the term "opposite gender" problematic because it is not very inclusive.
It's not as if gender is a pair of two extremes with no difference. It's a spectrum of expression and identity, and everyone falls somewhere on it. If anything, masculinity and femininity are both what could be vaguely described opposite to being agender, not to each other. But it is ridiculous to say that they're opposite. If you were to say that there were opposites in terms of race, it wouldn't make sense. But for some reason people think it works with gender, given most social institutions around gender.
There are opposites in many other areas as well, such as words. The number of words is nearly infinite. So is the number of genders. In my opinion there can be opposite genders, but not limited to two.
Gender is a social construct, So I refrain from using it, Therefore Sex and Gender to me are the same thing, And are merely determined by your genitalia I guess.
Well, I think the term "Opposite gender" comes from the ignorance of society (not really their fault) that they think sex and gender = same thing and that "gender" is merely a censor word for "sex" because "sex" = "eww, gross". As for there actually being opposite genders? I dunno. I honestly don't know. To me, people are people and should, for the most part, be left to their own devices to see what they like and don't like, and other people should, in turn, respect that and not want to kill them because they don't "Fit in". But a lot of us, at least in the current generations, still have that as a huge staple to their identity. I think our understanding of gender is changing, and as people understand that sex =/= gender, they'll understand that sex = genitalia and gender = toys, interests and identity and we might see that kind of change, action-wise, in the next 20-ish years.
It's not the ignorance of society... that's what it can actually mean. Words can have multiple meanings, and despite what many people like to push and protest, gender does carry multiple definitions. (Like sex! Meaning biological sex and sex) It's just while there's still the standard and scientific definition of the word, there is also the growing use of the word as a shortened version of "gender roles" or "gender identities"; the more emotional and social characteristics. Usually when I hear "opposite gender" I'm hearing, interally, "opposite sex", and I think that most people are using the term "opposite gender" in that capacity. Which is where I'd say I'd think there is an "opposite gender". With how muddled gender roles/identities are now in this day and age, I don't think it applies so much anymore.
inclusiveness goes both ways please - those who want us to believe in their existence please do not erase those of use who have been around for so long - just because in the past the non-binary was erased does not mean you get to no practice your own erasure of all of the people I know IRL I am the MOST inclusive, in fact I am pretty tired of my personhood being invalidated by people telling me I am not allowed to be a binary - I AM female just because gender is a spectrum and for many their gender slides around it does not mean that some of us are not at each end of the spectrum (i.e. some of us ARE actually binary) please accept me as female (a binary gender) as I accept anyone else's self declaration of gender - whichever it happens to be.
I never hear people say opposite gender; only opposite sex. The latter is the only one which makes sense to me, as gender is more of a continuum, and a volatile one at that.
The definitions I use for gender are kind of unorthodox, so I'll explain them. I don't consider hobbies as an indicator of gender- too much variety in humans for that. No, I use appearance and personality. I use a scale: masculine, neutral, and feminine. Non-binaries? They're somewhere on the scale. Physical sex? Male, female, intersex, and no biological sex. I include trans people with their birth sex when they're pre-op and their actual gender when they're post-op. So, for male and female, the opposite is obvious. For neutral, I guess the opposite would be picking a side. Male and female can both be opposite to neutrality.
I was not trying to invalidate anyone. What I was trying to do was make the two binary genders just as important as the non binary ones. :icon_sad:
pretty much what I was getting at - just different wording OK, I just want all to be included. many people do just end up erasing us in the attempt to state "everyone is fluid", even stating my sexuality has to be (it isn't either, both my gender and orientation have been pretty fixed) Stuff like this is easier in person, nuances in conversation carry so much better.
