I thought about putting this in About This Message Board but I’d really rather hear the opinion of the people who hang out in mpsims or bbq. So moderator if I have run afoul of the rules please move it.
What if we could stamp our nicknames,if we so chose, in some way (maybe in preferences) that would identify us as male or female. Would that help or hinder the SDMB? I suppose it would have to be something like the international symbol for the sexes (that small symbol like the 0 with the -> pointing up for men and to the right for women or is it the other way around?.)
Probably would be another tool for some tricksters but seems like it would help in a lot of instances. Dunno just a thought.
I think I can usually tell.
For some reason, I seem to be pretty good at guessing gender.
But then again, sometimes I have been way off.
Hmmm. I think that maybe that would be a good section for the profile.
Well doesn’t it help you to know what gender person you are talking to? Helps me to relate to others… Besides it would put a stop to all that he/she typing. Still its only a suggestion.
I feel kind of trite writing this, because this point has been made ad nauseum–in the real world for sure, and probably on the SDMB, too. But here goes:
(And I tried to phrase this elegantly, hit the backspace key alot, and decided to write this instead)
If you treat people differently based on their genders, than you are a sexist.
And I would be damn happy to be hit on by anyone, male or female. I am not bisexual. I am just married.
Perhaps in some situations, but hardly in all, so the statement fails, as most generalizations do. I don’t have sex with men - does that make me sexist? 'Tis truly absurd to pretend men and women have no differences.
That being said, I’ll note that I kind of like the phenomenon we encounter here where posters whose names or specifics in posts don’t make it clear for a while. I’ve been surprised.
I don’t know how I should have phrased it–but what I meant to say is that often, people see men as “people” and women as “women.” Both men and women do this without meaning to. They sometimes discount what women say, assuming that women are less logical, more emotional, etc.
So it is nice that I can come here and just be Green Bean. Not Green Bean–Female.
I make no secret of my gender, but somehow I feel better without it being displayed prominently next to every post.
Here, I don’t care what gender a person is. I will treat them the same way, male, female, unknown or other. I don’t hit on people here, I hit on them on ICQ.
Some people (including myself) note their gender in their user name; others reveal it in their posts. It’s certainly something I note and remember, but it’s not something I spend any time at all worrying about.
FWIW, I’d view mandatory labelling by gender with very cold eyes. Obviously I chose a name disguised the fact that I’m female. It really wasn’t intended to be misleading; I was just too fogged out mentally to think up something completely gender neutral.
I rather regret the name now, mainly because it’s more misleading than I intended. But the cloak of anonymity can be very comforting. This is a very public place, and choosing what information to share is valuable.
