# Are you a male or a female? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 3, 2017, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-male-or-a-female/790451 "2017-07-03T17:50:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2017, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-male-or-a-female/790451/41 "2017-07-05T13:46:46Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > [Schwarzenegger] But vat about girly men? [/Schwarzenegger] I answered “male” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2017, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-male-or-a-female/790451/42 "2017-07-05T14:18:29Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > Way to set me straight! I don’t think it works like that. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_lining](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aca169/32.png) [@Silver\_lining](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_lining)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2017, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-male-or-a-female/790451/43 "2017-07-05T14:39:16Z")
I guesses 70 / 30 male to female, and so far the poll of 180+ people who voted suggest this is about right. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2017, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-male-or-a-female/790451/44 "2017-07-05T14:57:21Z")
It’s been stable at close to 70/30 since there were only about 50 votes. So modulo whatever response biases there are, 70/30 seems to be the answer. ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2017, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-male-or-a-female/790451/45 "2017-07-05T16:48:30Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > It’s been stable at close to 70/30 since there were only about 50 votes. > > So modulo whatever response biases there are, 70/30 seems to be the answer. It’s looking closer to 60/40 at 143/55= 38.5% ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2017, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-male-or-a-female/790451/46 "2017-07-05T16:57:59Z")
I guess I’m a prescriptivist, because my initial reaction is “No, I’m not a male or a female because _neither of those are nouns!_” 😉 ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2017, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-male-or-a-female/790451/47 "2017-07-05T17:19:57Z")
> [@Sparky812](#): > > It’s looking closer to 60/40 at 143/55= 38.5% That’s some novel math you’ve got there. The current count as I write is 143 vs. 55 as you say. Which means the total = 143 + 55 = 198. Males are 143 of 198 = 143/198 = 72.2% and females are 55 of 198 = 55/198 = 27.7%. The board’s software helpfully displays these numbers for you over on the right side of the poll adjacent to the vote counts. IOW, the skew is moving towards more heavily male, nearly 75% vs 25% than it was when I posted at 70% vs 30%. It is not moving towards 60/40 as you say. My belief is we now have enough data that the result will be pretty stable going forward. The only reason to expect a material change would be if a bunch of people of one or the other gender had been ignoring the poll (or didn’t know of it) and then decided \*en masse \*to show up & vote. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2017, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-male-or-a-female/790451/48 "2017-07-05T17:48:24Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I don’t think it works like that. I knew that seemed too easy! ---
**Author:** ![Anny\_Middon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc79bd/32.png) [@Anny\_Middon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anny_Middon)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-male-or-a-female/790451/49 "2017-07-06T00:43:51Z")
> [@Richard\_Pearse](#): > > If I have a poll asking if you own a cat or a dog do I get chastised for not including every other possible pet in existence? What should someone who owns both a cat and a dog respond? Just askin’. I didn’t answer the poll because I’m having trouble understanding what the fuck difference it makes what the male/female mix of the board is. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-male-or-a-female/790451/50 "2017-07-06T01:04:47Z")
Duplicate ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-male-or-a-female/790451/51 "2017-07-06T01:06:01Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > That’s enough to go around. We’ll just need a schedule and a little member cooperation. > We can make this work. > [@kayaker](#): > > Alright. I’ll make do with just two. The implication is that you’re sharing the womenfolk. As a womenfolk, I am offended. I was going to say not amused but then I thought I’d just be honest. Offended. I am not a commodity. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-male-or-a-female/790451/52 "2017-07-06T10:29:44Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > The implication is that you’re sharing the womenfolk. As a womenfolk, I am offended. I was going to say not amused but then I thought I’d just be honest. Offended. I am not a commodity. [del]_There’s \* the little girl![/del] Sorry. It was a joke_\*\*\*\* meant to belittle the stereotypic view once held by males in society. Things are largely different today. \*\*\*\*\* Expected response to a joke is laughter. The joke teller hopes the audience “gets it” and is entertained. This leads to the premise that a joke is actually an “understanding test” between individuals and groups. If the listeners do not get the joke, they are not understanding the two scripts which are contained in the narrative as they were intended. Or they do “get it” and don’t laugh; it might be too obscene, too gross or too dumb for the current audience. A woman might respond differently to a joke told by a male colleague around the water cooler than she would to the same joke overheard in a women’s lavatory. A joke involving toilet humour may be funnier told on the playground at elementary school than on a college campus. The same joke will elicit different responses in different settings. The punchline in the joke remains the same, however it is more or less appropriate depending on the current context. ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-male-or-a-female/790451/53 "2017-07-06T12:49:53Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > That’s some novel math you’ve got there. > > The current count as I write is 143 vs. 55 as you say. Which means the total = 143 + 55 = 198. Males are 143 of 198 = 143/198 = 72.2% and females are 55 of 198 = 55/198 = 27.7%. The board’s software helpfully displays these numbers for you over on the right side of the poll adjacent to the vote counts. > > IOW, the skew is moving towards more heavily male, nearly 75% vs 25% than it was when I posted at 70% vs 30%. It is not moving towards 60/40 as you say. > My belief is we now have enough data that the result will be pretty stable going forward. The only reason to expect a material change would be if a bunch of people of one or the other gender had been ignoring the poll (or didn’t know of it) and then decided \*en masse \*to show up & vote. Ha Ha! I stand corrected. Not sure how I did that. Can I blame my iPhone? ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-male-or-a-female/790451/54 "2017-07-06T18:01:40Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > [del]_There’s \* the little girl![/del] Sorry. It was a joke_\*\*\*\* meant to belittle the stereotypic view once held by males in society. Things are largely different today. > > \*\*\*\*\* Expected response to a joke is laughter. The joke teller hopes the audience “gets it” and is entertained. This leads to the premise that a joke is actually an “understanding test” between individuals and groups. If the listeners do not get the joke, they are not understanding the two scripts which are contained in the narrative as they were intended. Or they do “get it” and don’t laugh; it might be too obscene, too gross or too dumb for the current audience. A woman might respond differently to a joke told by a male colleague around the water cooler than she would to the same joke overheard in a women’s lavatory. A joke involving toilet humour may be funnier told on the playground at elementary school than on a college campus. The same joke will elicit different responses in different settings. The punchline in the joke remains the same, however it is more or less appropriate depending on the current context. And you responded to my comment by calling me a little girl, which you “disguised” by deleting. Your apology comes off as less than heartfelt. The only person who feels belittled is me. Winner of one internet, you? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-male-or-a-female/790451/55 "2017-07-06T18:28:15Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > And you responded to my comment by calling me a little girl, which you “disguised” by deleting. Your apology comes off as less than heartfelt. The only person who feels belittled is me. Winner of one internet, you? Again, that was a joke referencing a specific thread about another joke. It’s jokes all the way down. Peace. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-male-or-a-female/790451/56 "2017-07-06T18:39:57Z")
Women aren’t things to be traded or shared – the innapropriateness of such jokes would probably be obvious were the poll in question about the race of Dopers rather than gender. We don’t share or trade women any more than we share or trade black people. Let’s all try to be better than the society we came from. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-male-or-a-female/790451/57 "2017-07-06T18:50:32Z")
**First these two** - these posts are in poor taste in the context of this thread and this forum. While I know you intend it as a joke, enough women would not enjoy the joke of being shared among the men of this board, that it’s best to not make it. > [@Morgenstern](#): > > That’s enough to go around. We’ll just need a schedule and a little member cooperation. > We can make this work. > [@kayaker](#): > > Alright. I’ll make do with just two. **Now this.** Next time use the report function and not comment in-thread. > [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > The implication is that you’re sharing the womenfolk. As a womenfolk, I am offended. I was going to say not amused but then I thought I’d just be honest. Offended. I am not a commodity. > [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Women aren’t things to be traded or shared – the innapropriateness of such jokes would probably be obvious were the poll in question about the race of Dopers rather than gender. We don’t share or trade women any more than we share or trade black people. > > Let’s all try to be better than the society we came from. \*\*Finally- \*\*let’s not extend the hijack by responding. > [@kayaker](#): > > [del]_There’s \* the little girl![/del] Sorry. It was a joke_\*\*\*\* meant to belittle the stereotypic view once held by males in society. Things are largely different today. > > \*\*\*\*\* Expected response to a joke is laughter. The joke teller hopes the audience “gets it” and is entertained. This leads to the premise that a joke is actually an “understanding test” between individuals and groups. If the listeners do not get the joke, they are not understanding the two scripts which are contained in the narrative as they were intended. Or they do “get it” and don’t laugh; it might be too obscene, too gross or too dumb for the current audience. A woman might respond differently to a joke told by a male colleague around the water cooler than she would to the same joke overheard in a women’s lavatory. A joke involving toilet humour may be funnier told on the playground at elementary school than on a college campus. The same joke will elicit different responses in different settings. The punchline in the joke remains the same, however it is more or less appropriate depending on the current context. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-male-or-a-female/790451/58 "2017-07-06T18:51:02Z")
ETA: Snark while above mod post was being written deleted. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-male-or-a-female/790451/59 "2017-07-06T18:58:18Z")
Dude here. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-male-or-a-female/790451/60 "2017-07-06T19:41:03Z")
…the fuck, guys? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-male-or-a-female/790451.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-male-or-a-female/790451.md?page=4)