Is Flynn a Guy or a Girl?
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Am I a male or a female or something else?
Alright, first off I'll make it easy and say I'm not something else. But what my actual sex is has apparently been a source of question and confusion, and so of course, I had to make a page about it (because I'm a Squidoo addict).
One's choice of presentation online, being not necessarily related to one's actual sex, is more accurately termed gender, so that is what I will use the two terms as. Gender for one's identification, sex for one's physical state.
Why is this a question? Because gender is one of the most basic questions about people - is it a boy? they ask of babies, can I have sex with them? they ask of new people (...well. Maybe not explicitly!) People tend to categorise others as one or the other and this runs into some interesting problems with only written and pictorial clues...
I decided not to choose, because both 'boy' and 'girl' came with a set of assumptions. Sure, these assumptions change from person to person, but I don't want to categorise myself like that and then have people learn about me as an individual. Rather, people talk to me, then categorise me as one or the other depending on their own perspective. I also found that it's 'over the line' of too much sharing - it's part of the few areas I consistently keep private, and when people know too much about me online, I start avoiding those sites.
Some of my first online friends were transgender - they were awesome people, from a site I've long since retreated from, and they made me hyper aware of all the issues and privileges, and words associated with gender issues. So now I also try and make it a silent statement.
"Gender bending is sometimes a form of social activism undertaken in response to assumptions or over-generalisations about genders"
Gender Bender: Wikipedia
You have to grasp at hints. I have been told I am male because I use the name Flynn. And draw a lot of women. Female, because I have the tag 'the Cat' (although this also varies) and because ... actually, not sure. Statistics :D I think people just assume. I've seen a few rather heated debates on the subject, where one person takes issue with the other's use of a pronoun for me.
The painting above is nine times out of ten instantly assumed to be either he or she (fairly evenly split each way). As are the other pictures I will be using. Very rarely does someone actually ask, or consider it not to matter.
Some people KNOW for sure, because I've actually emailed them or met them, under my real name (and face, of course) - to be fair, please don't tell?
But WHY?
Because it's funny.
Because I'm making a statement for all the people for whom it actually matters what people think they are.
Because it's the internet and you really don't know anyway.
Because it isn't worth arguing about.
Because people are more comfortable assuming I am what they want me to be.
Because I like my privacy and it is the one thing I can abandon and not have it matter.
I only made this page about ME because people kept asking. And because I wanted to make it 'real' when I explained. I happily survived on the internet for years without a page making a big deal about my gender ^_^
One's choice of presentation online, being not necessarily related to one's actual sex, is more accurately termed gender, so that is what I will use the two terms as. Gender for one's identification, sex for one's physical state.
Why is this a question? Because gender is one of the most basic questions about people - is it a boy? they ask of babies, can I have sex with them? they ask of new people (...well. Maybe not explicitly!) People tend to categorise others as one or the other and this runs into some interesting problems with only written and pictorial clues...
I decided not to choose, because both 'boy' and 'girl' came with a set of assumptions. Sure, these assumptions change from person to person, but I don't want to categorise myself like that and then have people learn about me as an individual. Rather, people talk to me, then categorise me as one or the other depending on their own perspective. I also found that it's 'over the line' of too much sharing - it's part of the few areas I consistently keep private, and when people know too much about me online, I start avoiding those sites.
Some of my first online friends were transgender - they were awesome people, from a site I've long since retreated from, and they made me hyper aware of all the issues and privileges, and words associated with gender issues. So now I also try and make it a silent statement.
"Gender bending is sometimes a form of social activism undertaken in response to assumptions or over-generalisations about genders"
Gender Bender: Wikipedia
You have to grasp at hints. I have been told I am male because I use the name Flynn. And draw a lot of women. Female, because I have the tag 'the Cat' (although this also varies) and because ... actually, not sure. Statistics :D I think people just assume. I've seen a few rather heated debates on the subject, where one person takes issue with the other's use of a pronoun for me.
The painting above is nine times out of ten instantly assumed to be either he or she (fairly evenly split each way). As are the other pictures I will be using. Very rarely does someone actually ask, or consider it not to matter.
Some people KNOW for sure, because I've actually emailed them or met them, under my real name (and face, of course) - to be fair, please don't tell?
But WHY?
Because it's funny.
Because I'm making a statement for all the people for whom it actually matters what people think they are.
Because it's the internet and you really don't know anyway.
Because it isn't worth arguing about.
Because people are more comfortable assuming I am what they want me to be.
Because I like my privacy and it is the one thing I can abandon and not have it matter.
I only made this page about ME because people kept asking. And because I wanted to make it 'real' when I explained. I happily survived on the internet for years without a page making a big deal about my gender ^_^
I'm not convinced that what are traditionally considered to be male energies or qualities or female energies or qualities really have as much to do with gender as many people think they do.
Andrew Cohen
What do you think I am?
Take a guess on me!
I do wonder at the number of people who 'know the answer' because I'm pretty sure there aren't that many people on the internet who actually know - much less have visited this page!
(No seriously. About 20 people have picked it so far, and I think only about four people know for sure).
Loading poll. Please Wait...
I appreciate the sentiment that I am a popular woman in computer gaming circles; but I prefer being thought of as a computer game designer rather than a woman computer game designer. I don't put myself into gender mode when designing a game.
Roberta Williams
But your avatar is female!
That must mean you're a girl!
Does it?Well firstly, I use my own art - and as I draw a lot of women, this means the better pictures are probably going to be female. And I know enough to use an actual face online, rather than a bird or a dragon - it looks more 'real' and trustworthy. And I'm advertising my artwork, so I want to use the best. So yes, I use the pictures with the greatest impact. I also tend to use whichever I just painted, when creating new accounts - so often that's the only major factor in the decision! But yes, Negative Space on the right is now my best painting and makes a good icon. I also can't sell it, as it's copied from a photo of a model, so I might as well get some mileage out of it!
Secondly, well, maybe I'm trying to throw you off! No, joking. But plenty of guys are very happy to play rather attractive elf warriors in WoW, for the simple basis of that's what they want to look at on the screen XD And maybe, maybe I'm a guy who likes girly things and would rather be thought a girl, than girly.
Lastly... to be honest, when I look at the picture just above, my brain doesn't even say 'female'. I know she does to other people, and I know the original model was, but I often don't realise until much later that everyone's seeing a girl when I stick my random colourful picture up!
I think we're struggling with trying to redefine various positions at this point in history. To allow freedom for women, freedom for men, freedom from those sharply defined gender roles.
Fred Ward
But Your Name is Male!
Flynn is a guy's name, right?
It's not my real name, I'll tell you that now. I picked it because I liked the name, I wanted something not too fancy and overly romantic or fantastical or ... or, yes, Mary/Gary Sue-ish. But it always sounded like an interesting name to me, I'm not sure why. And it was similar to a character in a story I wrote, when I was in high school. (And therefore it is buried in the depths of the earth, Forever). And yes, I am thoroughly creeped out by the new Rapunzel movie - Flynn's apparently uncommon enough that whenever it pops up in relation to Tangled I get a 'huh? what? me?' reaction! (I predict a sharp rise in the use of the name 'Flynn' if the film is a success!). Come to think of it, the Errol Flynn version of Robin Hood was one of my favourite films as a kid...And guess what? Flynn's actually a unisex name. It's Irish in origin (I had an Irish grandfather, actually, maybe that's how I decided I liked it!) and means ruddy/red-headed and is a form of the (masculine) name Flann. Or alternatively, Flynn is a male name and means 'son of a red-haired man'. But it can be a female name.
'the Cat'...? Well, I was signing up on DeviantART and this became one of my major online presences. It's a big site, and most names are taken. So I picked something I could live with. I like cats. And yeah, to some people it's girly. To others it's mysterious thief-assassin in the night. And to others it's just 'meow! I'm a kitty! now I will tek over teh world!'
Our true nature is free of any and all notions of gender, of any notions of difference whatsoever.
Andrew Cohen
But I/Someone Referred To You As He/She!
And you didn't correct them!
People assume, and throw out random pronouns because they often feel they should. I have a policy of not saying anything - after all, what would I correct them to? Besides, it's the sort of thing that can usually sidetrack an entire thread with explanations and discussions.
But this tends to mean that the next person assumes the first person actually knows, leading to entire forums referring to me by that gender from that point on. As you've probably gathered by now, I find that quite funny.
Also, some sites REQUIRE me to select a gender when signing up. This is terribly aggravating, and I tend to try and select randomly - if I get the choice, I'll choose not to display it.
But this tends to mean that the next person assumes the first person actually knows, leading to entire forums referring to me by that gender from that point on. As you've probably gathered by now, I find that quite funny.
Also, some sites REQUIRE me to select a gender when signing up. This is terribly aggravating, and I tend to try and select randomly - if I get the choice, I'll choose not to display it.
Gender Neutrality - Why be Either?
Which am I trying to be?
Alright. I'm not trying to be either - I set out to not state which I am, and see what happened.To not let it interfere with my interactions online.
I don't care. I wanted to step outside that and see what happened. Sometimes this means biting my tongue when people make generalisations, and I want to jump in and say 'actually...'
And I can't claim NOT to fit one, without proving myself the other. (YOU know... when people say that Girls Like X or that Boys Aren't Capable of Y)
What happened was either people decided it didn't matter, or a fairly even split figured I was one or the other. More interestingly, people made an assumption, and stuck with it.
Even MORE interestingly, most (apparent >.> ) females assumed I was a girl, and most (apparent :D ) males decided I was a guy. So in webcomic forums (for example) there are more guys, and the general consensus is that I am too, on Squidoo, more of the (active) lensmasters seem to be female, and they tend to guess that way. DeviantART is split fairly evenly.
"Coaxial Adapter, N Female / N Female (Gender Changer)"
Amazon Price: $3.95 (as of 05/31/2012)
If only it could be this easy.
Interesting Links and Studies
Some very interesting articles about online identity and gender bending
- Psychology of Cyberspace - Identity Management in Cyberspace
- Who are you in cyberspace? Am I the same John Suler I am in-person or someone a bit different? One of the interesting things about the internet is the opportunity if offers people to present themselves in a variety of different ways. You can alter your style of being just slightly or indulge in wild experiments with your identity by changing your age, history, personality, physical appearance, even your gender. The username you choose, the details you do or don't indicate about yourself, the information presented on your personal web page, the persona or avatar you assume in an online community - all are important aspects of how people manage their identity in cyberspace. Identity is a very complex aspect of human nature. Here are five interlocking factors that are useful in navigating that maze of how people manage who they are in cyberspace:
- Psychology of Cyberspace - Gender Swapping
- Brad first met Natalie on a MOO. He was a college senior at an eastern university, she a junior on the west coast. They got to know each other better by corresponding through e-mail. Over time, he felt very close to her. Maybe, he thought, he was even falling in love. When he finally suggested, then insisted, that he give her a phone call, the truth came crashing down on his head. Natalie confessed to being a 50 year old man.
- Bending Gender Online for Fun, Profit, and Faux Feminism %uFFFD Kittywampus
- The feminist blogetariat is abuzz at the revelation that freelancer and professional blogger James Chartrand is actually a lady, and that ze could only make a real living after swapping genders. Sure, hir story definitely demonstrates that sexism is alive and well. The fascinating thing about this story, though, is how many layers it has, even after you peel away the obvious message about sexism. There's hypermasculinity and gender fluidity; imperiled working mothers and supposedly ball-busting mommy bloggers; feminist outrage and faux feminism masquerading as a commitment to a liberal ideal of "choice."
- BBC NEWS | Technology | Gender gap alive and well online
- Men like the new things on the net but women use it to maintain social ties, a US study finds.
- deviantART Forum: Gender Bending... online
- Anyone already tried it out ? Anyone already have been lied to ?
It seems easy to pretend being the opposite sex, it seems like there can't be any consequences, but what happens when bounds are created anyway ?
Sometimes, even crossing a box is enough, but why would a she pretends to be a he, and a he pretends to be a she ?
Some may play with it. Some may use it to live their homosexuality when they do not dare to come out in real life. Some may pretend to be what they would want to be, truely be theirselves personality wise under their fake indentity...
Your thoughts about online gender bending ?
" The mockery is nothing but what hides the truth - it's the truth that hides that there is none. The mockery is true "
- Jean Baudrillard. - Pickled Think: Gender and Pseudonyms: What I've Chosen To Do
- The Public Me of Writing is also wrapped up in my name and gender. Yesterday, I read a good examination of this by M.R. Fall over at Tiger Beatdown, entitled "The J.K. Rowling Complex, or, Why My Initials Are How You Know Me". Fall discusses her identity as a playwright, but the idea holds true in publishing - women have a hard time being read, critically assessed and taken seriously, and sometimes a pseudonym can help you get over the hurdle of first reading without gender bias.
I thought this was a good opportunity to discuss what I have chosen to do with my writing identity as pertains to my name. - He, Once a She, Offers Own View On Science Spat - WSJ.com
- Ben Barres, a professor of neurobiology at Stanford University, has a unique perspective on why women are so rare at the highest levels of academic science and math. He used to be Barbara.
- Gender bender - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Gender bender is an informal term used to refer to a person who actively transgresses, or "bends," expected gender roles. Gender bending is sometimes a form of social activism undertaken in response to assumptions or over-generalisations about genders. Some gender benders identify with the gender assigned them at birth, but challenge the norms of that gender through androgynous behavior and atypical gender roles.
- Gender identity - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Gender identity (otherwise known as core gender identity) is the gender(s), or lack thereof, a person self-identifies as. It is not necessarily based on biological sex, either real or perceived, nor is it always based on sexual orientation. The gender identities one may identify as include male, female, both, somewhere in between ("third gender"), or neither.
- Parents keep child's gender secret - Parentcentral.ca
- "So it's a boy, right?" a neighbour calls out as Kathy Witterick walks by, her four month old baby, Storm, strapped to her chest in a carrier. See...
- One teacher;s approach to preventing gender bullying in a classroom
- Gender is not a subject that I would have broached in primary grades a few years ago. In fact, I remember scoffing with colleagues when we heard about a young kindergarten teacher who taught gender-related curriculum. We thought her lessons were a waste of instructional time and laughed at her "girl and boy" lessons.
Aha! But What About Those Lenses You Wrote...?
They clearly prove that you are...
Haha, yes, I do tend to notice that people start referring to me as 'he' or 'she' more after I publish certain lenses (and quite stereotypically, half the time!)
My gaming, Order of the Stick, Ninja Cats, and Buffy lenses mostly get a 'guy' response (the Anti-Twilight vibe, I think) and obviously the Femslash and Lesbian Media ones cause people to think I'm a girl. For every lens I've written in a category, I probably have also published its opposite - or have it sitting in WIP. (Uh... with the exception of Buffy, I swear I have NO 'pro-Twilight' lenses in the works!)
The femslash got really out of hand. It started as a quick lark (I noticed a niche and thought I'd practice and thought it was a silly enough subject to get away with) and turned into a monster dominating the entire subject (the constant first tier ranking had a lot to do with my motivation to improve it! And it actually made Disney palatable to me, because I find it so hilarious) and the Lesbian media was simply a subsection of that, which had to eventually be given its own page (I'd probably never have written it otherwise)- and it's easier to focus on niches. I've a couple of gay-guy focussed ones in WIP. But Lesbian-Focussed content tends to be a lot more family friendly (especially in the Disney fandom!) so it's more likely to make it onto Squidoo.
But I tend to write about a lot of things. The ones you notice are just the ones that worked... for Google! For the record? I'm bi. So the sex of the person I'm interested in looking at? Not really helpful *cackles an evil laugh*
My gaming, Order of the Stick, Ninja Cats, and Buffy lenses mostly get a 'guy' response (the Anti-Twilight vibe, I think) and obviously the Femslash and Lesbian Media ones cause people to think I'm a girl. For every lens I've written in a category, I probably have also published its opposite - or have it sitting in WIP. (Uh... with the exception of Buffy, I swear I have NO 'pro-Twilight' lenses in the works!)
The femslash got really out of hand. It started as a quick lark (I noticed a niche and thought I'd practice and thought it was a silly enough subject to get away with) and turned into a monster dominating the entire subject (the constant first tier ranking had a lot to do with my motivation to improve it! And it actually made Disney palatable to me, because I find it so hilarious) and the Lesbian media was simply a subsection of that, which had to eventually be given its own page (I'd probably never have written it otherwise)- and it's easier to focus on niches. I've a couple of gay-guy focussed ones in WIP. But Lesbian-Focussed content tends to be a lot more family friendly (especially in the Disney fandom!) so it's more likely to make it onto Squidoo.
But I tend to write about a lot of things. The ones you notice are just the ones that worked... for Google! For the record? I'm bi. So the sex of the person I'm interested in looking at? Not really helpful *cackles an evil laugh*
Share your thoughts!
Am I a guy or a girl?
Go on! Tell me! I'm dying to find out XD
What am I?
Definitely Male
jewelkid87 says:
I've always thought you were a guy....simply because of the name "Flynn" and "the cat" makes me think of a male cat named Flynn and that's you :p. You could very well be a girl though!
Serenia says:
I choose you to be a guy - simply because you paint so many pictures of females and not a lot of males. Most females would paint more pictures of men and not women Also marine biology is usually a male dominated career (yes, yes I know that still doesnt mean you are not a female) but I go with the majority of statistics.
lovelylashes says:
I don't know why but I have always assumed that you were male. Just your writing style strikes me as a guy. After reading this lens, I'm thinking you might be a girl.... still not sure!
Flynn_the_Cat says:
@mulberry - good point, and one I'm very aware of :D Of course, I AM a bit insecure - I make a big thing about how I'm not actually a girl. or a guy. But if I truly didn't care, I wouldn't have written a big page about it! It's a tradeoff. I can say I'm NOT one - but then everyone assumes I'm the other.
noxid25 says:
Not that it should matter either way; if forced to choose, I think you're a man. I don't know why and maybe I'm wrong. Either way, you're talented and have interesting things to share with us. In otherwords, what matters is your impact on society, not your gender or sex. This is a great lens - 5 stars!
Female. Absolutely.
CelebStyle says:
female - based on the hand pictures & arm pics in your skin condition lens
Kylyssa says:
I have no idea whether you have xx under the hood or if you're sporting a y somewhere but I think you're probably female gendered.
AbsoluteJeanius says:
Well, let's see...smart, creative, expressive...reads female to me. What a shame you don't have a third choice: just a way cool person! ;)
crosscreations says:
I think maybe female, but emphasis on "I think" and take out the absolutely cause I'm no way absolutely sure, nor does it matter all that much.
catbehaviors says:
I've just always thought of you as girl. Then again I presume that almost everyone on the internet is female. I also think of most artists as female, even though many artists are male. You do act male sometimes, though. So you never know. ;)
When I Was A Boy
I Was Just A Girl
This is a very perceptive song about humanity and society, and gender roles... Initially feminist, I do recommend listening to end. (or just skip to the next bit below)
"I won't forget when Peter Pan came to my house, took my hand
I said I was a boy; I'm glad he didn't check.
I learned to fly, I learned to fight
I lived a whole life in one night
We saved each other's lives out on the pirate's deck.
And I remember that night
When I'm leaving a late night with some friends
And I hear somebody tell me it's not safe,
someone should help me
I need to find a nice man to walk me home.
....
"I won't forget when Peter Pan came to my house, took my hand
I said I was a boy; I'm glad he didn't check.
I learned to fly, I learned to fight
I lived a whole life in one night
We saved each other's lives out on the pirate's deck.
And I remember that night
When I'm leaving a late night with some friends
And I hear somebody tell me it's not safe,
someone should help me
I need to find a nice man to walk me home.
....
curated content from YouTube
Boys Don't Cry... Songs About Gender Roles.
When I was a girl, my mom and I we always talked
And I picked flowers everywhere that I walked.
And I could always cry, now even when I'm alone I seldom do
And I have lost some kindness
But I was a girl too.
And you were just like me, and I was just like you"
Gender equality is more than a goal in itself. It is a precondition for meeting the challenge of reducing poverty, promoting sustainable development and building good governance.
Kofi Annan
Genderswapping
Why would anyone pretend to be the other sex?
Being online allows people to experiment or attempt to abandon preconceptions and gender stereotypes
It's a common cliche that there are no girls on the internet. Sure there are - but most of them are pretending to be boys! (Actually, on social blogging sites like Squidoo, the balance is tipped towards women, due mostly I think, to the predominance of mothers blogging from home, having found somewhere they can actually DO something when looking after their kids).
A girl playing the guy gets to avoid sexism, and creepy guys hitting on her. Or perhaps they want to 'indulge' in some of the typically male interests and don't want the stigma of being a girl (although I think this one's getting less and less the case). Lastly, power. Men are usually seen as more dominant and find it easier to gain respect (and followers, in WoW clans!).
What about a guy playing a girl? Well, most people seem to have no trouble with a girl wanting to pretend to be a man, but the other way around...? It's actually quite common. For fun, to create the illusion of interaction, to take advantage of attitudes towards women (e.g. a woman is probably more trusted when talking about raising kids - plenty of 'affiliate' account pages have a female username, but are actual run by men)... perhaps they feel female inside. Perhaps they just like what comes with it and aren't actually trying to be female at all.
This article covers some of the main points very well:
* Due to the pressure of cultural stereotypes, it may be difficult for some men to explore within themselves what society labels as "feminine" characteristics. These males may rely on the anonymity of cyberspace to express their "feminine" side which they feel they must otherwise hide. Some of these males may strongly identify with women.
* Adopting a feminine role in cyberspace may be a way to draw more attention to themselves. Getting noticed and responded to in cyberspace is not always easy, especially in such distracting, "noisy" environments as the visual chat habitats. Donning a female name and/or avatar, especially a sexy one, will almost instantly draw reactions. The gender-switched male may even like the feeling of power and control over other males that goes along with this switch.
* Some males may adopt a feminine identity to investigate male/female relationships. They may be testing out various ways of interacting with males in order to learn, first hand, what it's like being on the woman's side. Hopefully, they use that knowledge to enhance their relationships with females. Some, however, may be looking for ways to gain power and control.
* In some online games where participants assume imaginary identities (e.g., MUDs), being a female may be advantageous. Sometimes males lend more assistance to females, so they progress faster in the game.
* Disguised as a female, a male looking for intimacy, romance, and/or cybersex from another male may be acting upon conscious or unconscious homosexual feelings.
* Transsexuals (people who feel, psychologically, that they are the opposite sex rather than their given biological gender) and/or transvestites (people who cross-dress for sexual arousal or as an identification with females) may be drawn to virtual gender-switching. In rare cases, gender-switching could be a sign of what would be diagnosed as "gender confusion" - i.e., a psychological disturbance where one's identity as a male or female has not fully developed.
Psychology of Cyberspace - Genderswapping
I don't see gender as the most significant fact of human existence.
Jim Harrison
Other Andrognous Characters
I'm not alone in confusing people!
Other famous, or infamous genderless people online include:
Vaarsuvius from Order of the Stick - an elven mage that keeps everyone guessing, even going so far as to spill ink over the m/f question when signing up to the Order of the Stick adventuring party and then sneering about how unimportant it was (in the prequel book).
Yugi, Kirby, Alucard, Chris Lightfellow... this hilarious list identifies the The Top 16 Androgynous Game Characters of all Time!
Desire, From the Sandman
One of the classic either-ors is Desire. one of the Endless in Neil Gaiman's award-winning graphic novels.
Vertigo: Desire (The Sandman) Mini-Bust
Amazon Price: $98.00 (as of 05/31/2012)
As the living embodiment of temptation, The Sandman's sibling Desire ignites irresistible passion, pleasure, and often pain. This limited edition, hand-painted cold-cast porcelain mini-bust measures approximately 5 «" tall x 2" wide x 1 ó" deep and is packaged in a 4-color window box.
Pat, from Saturday Night Live
Pat was an intentionally androgynous character played by Julia Sweeney in the comedy show, Saturday Night Live.
Saturday Night Live: The Complete First Season, 1975-1976
Amazon Price: $19.95 (as of 05/31/2012)
List Price: $39.98
Ah, well, do I wish that we lived in a world where gender didn't figure so prominently? Of course. Do I even think about myself as a woman when I go to make art? Of course not.
Judy Chicago
Text Analysis
Guessing the Gender from their Writing
"About Gender Guesser In 2003, a team of researchers from the Illinois Institute of Technology and Bar-Ilan University in Israel (Shlomo Argamon, Moshe Koppel, Jonathan Fine, and Anat Rachel Shimoni) developed a method to estimate gender from word usage. Their paper described a Bayesian network where weighted word frequencies and parts of speech could be used to estimate the gender of an author. Their approach made a distinction between fiction and non-fiction writing styles."
60% - 70% accurate Varies with writing style (formal or informal - although this is blurred when writing for an audience) Can be influenced by a wide variety of lifestyle factors Needs at least 300 words
My results for this page (copying actual chunks of text only, updated whenever I update this lens)
(Interestingly, I went from 'weak male' in both to weakly female and 'just' male with the latest update)
Try it for yourself!
Informal is closer to a blog-style, and it varies with the amount of text. I usually hover around the equal zone, occasionally coming up weakly female or male.
My results for this page (copying actual chunks of text only, updated whenever I update this lens)
Genre: InformalÂ
Female = 3054Â
Male  =2903Â
Difference = -151; 48.73%Â
Verdict: Weak FEMALE
Weak emphasis could indicate European.
Genre: FormalÂ
Female = 1570Â
Male  = 2361Â
Difference = 791; 60.06%Â
Verdict: MALE
(Interestingly, I went from 'weak male' in both to weakly female and 'just' male with the latest update)
Try it for yourself!
Informal is closer to a blog-style, and it varies with the amount of text. I usually hover around the equal zone, occasionally coming up weakly female or male.
Evolution's Rainbow: Diversity, Gender, and Sexuality in Nature and People, With a New Preface
Amazon Price: $18.70 (as of 05/31/2012)
List Price: $24.95
This brilliant and accessible work of biological criticism has the potential to revolutionize the way readers conceive of gender and sexuality in the natural world. Roughgarden, a professor of biology at Stanford University and a member of the Academy of Arts and Sciences, argues that the diversity of gender and sexuality one finds in many species suggests that evolutionary biologists of a strictly Darwinian bent are often misguided, since, according to Roughgarden, they erroneously assume a universally applicable gender binary in all species. The first half of the book brings that sexual diversity to light through innumerable examples among birds, reptiles, fish and mammals provided in highly readable anecdotes. The significance of this first section lies not only in this startlingly original portrait of nature, but also in how it suggests that contemporary Darwinian sexual selection theory is in part a result of cultural bias, since it "predicts that the baseline outcome of social evolution is horny, handsome, healthy warriors paired with discreetly discerning damsels."
We have been very conditioned by the cultures that we come from and are usually very identified with the particular gender that we happen to be a member of.
Andrew Cohen
More Interesting Lenses on Gender and Gender Roles
Gender identity and gender dysphoria
The whole issue of gender is an complicated one. Girls are girls and boys are boys, except when the boy has a dash of sweetness and the girl has a slug and a Y chromosome. And that's not even getting into sexual preferences.
Terminology changes, slang creeps in and out, some terms are offensive, medical, behavioural or generic or highly specific. Approval varies from person to person. There is plenty of information out there, so I do suggest you google for more. Some of the main terms at the moment are:
Genderswapping, Genderqueer, Androgyny, Genderless, Hermaphroditism, Transgender, Transexual, Intersexed, Queer...
Tomboy, wimp, dyke, fag. Butch,
And then there's the non-European terms, for specific roles in society:
Hijra (South Asia), Fa'afafine (Polynesian), Xanith (Oman)
Terminology changes, slang creeps in and out, some terms are offensive, medical, behavioural or generic or highly specific. Approval varies from person to person. There is plenty of information out there, so I do suggest you google for more. Some of the main terms at the moment are:
Genderswapping, Genderqueer, Androgyny, Genderless, Hermaphroditism, Transgender, Transexual, Intersexed, Queer...
Tomboy, wimp, dyke, fag. Butch,
And then there's the non-European terms, for specific roles in society:
Hijra (South Asia), Fa'afafine (Polynesian), Xanith (Oman)
As far as I'm concerned, being any gender is a drag.
Patti Smith
Got A Specific Point you Want Me To Explain Away?
"...for three years I had roses and apologized to no one."
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stockysister
Dec 28, 2011 @ 10:41 pm | delete
- Love it!
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MissCat
Dec 15, 2011 @ 10:34 pm | delete
- The ad for "Coaxial Adapter, N Female / N Female (Gender Changer)" made me giggle snort out loud. Great lens Flynn!
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kinworm
Nov 22, 2011 @ 8:59 am | delete
- Excellent lens which I rather oddly stumbled across because it wasn't a subject I was looking for - that's Squidoo searching for you! I don't remember ever thinking of you as a 'he' or a 'she' - merely as being very mystical. To be honest, I think you're some kind of magical creature like an elf and I'd hate to be disappointed on that! Long may the mystery live on :)
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jewelkid87
Jul 5, 2011 @ 2:51 pm | delete
- Great lens! I love the idea of not disclosing gender. We subconsciously (and consciously) treat males and females differently so being gender neutral is a good way to be treated as an equal. I hate that girls are always "pink, sparkles, barbies!" and boys are "green, mud, sports!" We need to get passed gender generalizations and let each individual like what they like. Why can't a boy like the color pink and not automatically be considered feminine? Why can't girls like playing sports and not automatically be considered masculine? I think it's silly when a 2 year old boy wants to play with dolls but they say "no, dolls are for girls.....here is your mud truck" because they think they would be steering their song into being homosexual. When we ingrain our children with the thought that women do certain things and men do certain things it just reinforces that we still don't have gender equality. The only reason we are given a gender anyway is so we can reproduce - nothing more.
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SandyPeaks
Jul 2, 2011 @ 5:18 am | delete
- Nice one, Flynn. I was born in Middlesex so I appreciate a mystery.
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Tipi
Mar 26, 2011 @ 4:43 pm | delete
- Thank you for for your clearly ambiguous and very informative response. Now, I just always took you at your name and believed you must be a very wonderful cat but then maybe some people are gullible like me and think I'm a tipi, lol. Wonderfully created!
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_Joan_
Mar 26, 2011 @ 10:34 am | delete
- Hi Flynn! I stumbled on this lens because I was thought I "needed" to confirm your gender when I realized that I had used the pronoun "she" to refer to you on the Jenga 2 lens based on nothing but the assumption that your avatar was a self-portrait. Now I know that the "she" may or may not have been correct, but I don't have to worry about whether I offended you. :-)
Very thought-provoking lens.
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AbsoluteJeanius
Feb 3, 2011 @ 12:04 pm | delete
- Super lens!
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EuroSquid
Feb 1, 2011 @ 8:23 am | delete
- This lens deserves a blessing for originality.
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tiff0315
Jan 31, 2011 @ 3:24 pm | delete
- All I can say is BRAVO! I absolutely loved this lens!
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crosscreations Jan 31, 2011 @ 8:52 am | delete
- A first for me to read about a 'gender bender' and I'm smiling at your cleverness. I have a favorite niece who I adore, and she has taught me some about this. She stays with me when she comes to town, once with a 'gender bender' partner and at that time my sons were maybe 6 and 7 years old. What an education! (smiles) My sons figured out that they were partners (gay) even at such a young age and took that in stride. The 'gender' thing went unnoticed with them, but not with me so I asked LOTS of questions and my dear niece explained - a bit tough to wrap my brain around but trying to do so.
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Ladymermaid
Jan 31, 2011 @ 7:22 am | delete
- A wise choice but I will always view you as a girl. The image is burned in my mind and I just cannot change it. Best wishes Flynn
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chemknitsblog
Jan 11, 2011 @ 9:16 am | delete
- BRAVO! I applaud your decision to keep your gender to yourself. I don't know if you are male or female... and honestly I don't care, because that knowledge wouldn't really change my opinion about you. Of course, this still hasn't really helped me decide what pronoun to use for you, but at least I now know I will amuse you rather than offend you.
Having attended a single-sex college, the topic of gender identification came up a lot, especially when it came to admissions. Another women's college changed their charter from "we the women" to "we the people" to be inclusive to all the gender identifications of all of their students/almunae. Does someone attending a women's college need to be born female, be anatomically female at admission or just identify as female?
I appreciate reading such a well written, well researched discussion of the topic. We need more people like you!
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Anwarart
Nov 6, 2010 @ 4:38 pm | delete
- This is a fantastic and thoughtful lens. I love the amount of research that went into this. I think because it's not possible to see others over the internet, people try to get as much information as they can to somehow make those they're communicating with more "real" and "familiar." Asking if you're a boy or a girl is usually one of the first questions that pops up. Personally, whenever I see your avatar I think 'Oh, it's Flynn the Cat' and figure that you're probably a human and not a keyboard cat of some kind. Clearly, my priorities are different.
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jenms
Nov 4, 2010 @ 10:00 pm | delete
- I tried that gender guesser thing and put in several samples of writing and it kept coming back male - interesting.
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About Me
by Flynn_the_Cat
I'm a Marine Biology post-graduate student, digital artist, traditional artist and photographer, obsessive reader, librarian and internet addict.
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The No-Nonsense Guide to Sexual Diversity (No-Nonsense Guides)
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The treatment of sexual minorities-whether lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender-varies significantly in different parts of the world. In some countries, equal rights have been achieved and progress is being made against discrimination; in others, being gay still incurs the death penalty.
This guide examines all the colors of the sexual rainbow, unearths hidden histories, and looks at contributions from medicine and science. It also includes a unique global survey of laws that affect sexual minorities.
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