| Revision as of 08:07, 19 December 2002 view source213.253.40.204 (talk) removed "biological" uses: "gender" is not a biological term← Previous edit | Revision as of 08:15, 19 December 2002 view source 213.253.40.204 (talk) generally assigning them to the classes ''masculine'', ''feminine'' or ''neuter''.Next edit → | ||
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| '''Gender''' is derived from the Old French word ''genre'', meaning "kind of thing". Gender as a ] term is a grammatical distinction and applies to words only. The term ] refers to the natural distinction between the sexes, and applies to living objects. | The word '''Gender''' is derived from the Old French word ''genre'', meaning "kind of thing". Gender as a ] term is a grammatical distinction and applies to words only, generally assigning them to the classes ''masculine'', ''feminine'' or ''neuter''. The term ] refers to the natural distinction between the sexes, and applies to living objects. | ||
| In the United States, "gender" is often used as a ] synonym for ]. | In the United States, "gender" is often used as a ] synonym for ]. | ||
Revision as of 08:15, 19 December 2002
The word Gender is derived from the Old French word genre, meaning "kind of thing". Gender as a linguistic term is a grammatical distinction and applies to words only, generally assigning them to the classes masculine, feminine or neuter. The term Sex refers to the natural distinction between the sexes, and applies to living objects.
In the United States, "gender" is often used as a politically correct synonym for sex.
The usage of this term falls into several areas.
For usages relating to grammar and linguistics see
- Gender-neutral pronouns
- Gender-specific pronoun
- Grammatical gender
- Non-sexist language
- Singular they
For usages relating to sex and human relations see
- Gender and sexuality studies
- Gender studies
- Sexual orientation
- Transgender
- Transsexual
- Legal aspects of transsexualism
- Hate crime
- Patriarchy
- Psychology
For the use of the term in literary criticism see
Situations sometimes arise where gender may be mimicked by inanimate objects, notably in cable connectors that have male and female counterparts. In this context see