# 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:** 15\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![SUZ\_MAC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e8cbc/32.png) [@SUZ\_MAC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SUZ_MAC)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2017, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-male-or-a-female/790451/61 "2017-07-07T21:31:02Z")
I’m all female. (cue the music) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2017, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-male-or-a-female/790451/62 "2017-07-08T01:05:44Z")
> [@chrisk](#): > > 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!_” 😉 OK, I gotta ask. What makes you believe male and female are not nouns? mmm ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2017, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-male-or-a-female/790451/63 "2017-07-08T01:55:18Z")
I’m a dude. I’m not The Dude. That’s Jeff Bridges. ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2017, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-male-or-a-female/790451/64 "2017-07-08T04:32:44Z")
I’m male. No, really. That was just an April Fool’s Day joke, people. I’m seriously male and the “having people think I was talking about being transgendered (not that there’s anything wrong with that)” outcome was just severe short sighted-ness. If that’s a phrase. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2017, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-male-or-a-female/790451/65 "2017-07-09T21:14:35Z")
> [@chrisk](#): > > 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!_” 😉 > [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > OK, I gotta ask. What makes you believe male and female are not nouns? > mmm Meh. They _are_ adjectives. But, in the context of the question being asked, there is a valid concept of an elided noun being implied. Take the imperative sentence, “Shut the door.” Where’s the subject noun? It’s _implied_, instead of in there, that’s where it is. The implied noun in the question “Are you a male of a female?” is [member of your species]. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2017, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-male-or-a-female/790451/66 "2017-07-09T21:57:25Z")
I’m not being argumentative, and I’m likely in over my head in this discussion, but… All three random dictionary entries I checked for ‘male’ list the word as a noun (and an adjective as well). “A white male entered the restaurant at noon” is a legitimate sentence in which the male is clearly a noun. What am I missing? mmm ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2017, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-male-or-a-female/790451/67 "2017-07-09T22:32:43Z")
On the Internet, you’re anyone you want to be. ---
**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 10, 2017, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-male-or-a-female/790451/68 "2017-07-10T00:38:06Z")
That makes me think of the fine sig line of [**SteveMB**](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/member.php):The Internet: Nobody knows if you’re a dog. Everybody knows if you’re a jackass.It’s amazing to me how many people, given the opportunity to be anything, choose to be a jackass. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-male-or-a-female/790451/69 "2017-07-10T03:26:14Z")
> [@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. How would you feel if the comment had been phrased to imply that each woman would have ~three men of her own? ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-male-or-a-female/790451/70 "2017-07-10T04:11:56Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > This poll could have avoided PC commentaries, by just asking “Which hand do you flush the toilet with?” Nearly all males would say Left, and females Right. > > Readers could then draw their own conclusion about the gender ratio of the respondents. I’m male, and when I go #2, I flush the toilet with my right hand before I get up. What conclusion do you draw from that? ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-male-or-a-female/790451/71 "2017-07-10T04:20:23Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > I’m male, and when I go #2, I flush the toilet with my right hand before I get up. What conclusion do you draw from that? That you’re a civilized person who utilizes the Courtesy Flush. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-male-or-a-female/790451/72 "2017-07-10T06:32:25Z")
Male. Currently it’s 196-75. ---
**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 10, 2017, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-male-or-a-female/790451/73 "2017-07-10T06:56:15Z")
> [@SCAdian](#): > > How would you feel if the comment had been phrased to imply that each woman would have ~three men of her own? There’s a nice little [Pit thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=830387) going if you’d like to discuss this. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-male-or-a-female/790451/74 "2017-07-10T09:20:16Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > There’s a nice little [Pit thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=830387) going if you’d like to discuss this. I browsed it briefly. It’s amazing how unabashedly sexist some can openly be here. And unabashedly dickish. So much for enlightenment. And fighting ignorance. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-male-or-a-female/790451/75 "2017-07-10T11:03:19Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > That makes me think of the fine sig line of [**SteveMB**](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/member.php):The Internet: Nobody knows if you’re a dog. Everybody knows if you’re a jackass.It’s amazing to me how many people, given the opportunity to be anything, choose to be a jackass. You know the saying “your right to swing your fist ends at the tip of my nose?” Corollary to that is “the internet lets me keep the tip of my nose far away from the reach of your fists.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-male-or-a-female/790451.md?page=3)