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Subject:Re: sex or gender? From:Vicki Rosenzweig <murphy!acmcr!vr -at- UUNET -dot- UU -dot- NET> Date:Thu, 9 Feb 1995 17:21:50 EST
That's a good one. In some circles, "sex" is taken to mean biology,
and "gender" to mean identity; the distinction is between the physical
and the psychological. There are few technical writing contexts in
which this is likely to come up. What I'm sure of is that if you're
referring to an act, or group of acts, it's "sex"; if you're talking
about grammar, it's "gender"; and either term can get you funny
looks from either people with dirty minds or pedants. If you're
worried that people will write "yes" if the question is "sex,"
either use "gender" or provide boxes labeled "female" and "male"
for them to check one.
Vicki Rosenzweig
vr%acmcr -dot- uucp -at- murphy -dot- com
New York, NY
