Tangent

[bubosquared]

I was gonna post this as a comment in Ruth's journal, but then the server went offline and now I have nothing better to do than sit here and type in my LJ thingie.

Now I, personally, am not bothered by being addressed as a 'guy', but then I've always felt 'one of the guys'. But then, Ruth doesn't have my gender identity issues, so if she refuses to be a guy, I'll do my best not to address her as one. [Note how I said I'll do my best. I know I'll often slip. Feel free to cough loudly when such is the case.]

Aside: I spent at least 15 minutes trying to figure out how to call the chatgirls then, because "y'all" - I've used it, and it made me slap my head every time I cought myself at it - is just far too American for me. Yes, I'm a language-snob. I'am fully aware of this.

Lastly, Ruth, if you don't want to be seen as a 'girl', I'll do my best not to call you one, but I am a girl, and I'd like to have the right to identify as one, thanks. You made a good point about the 'guys' thing, but I personally don't see the harm in identifying as a girl even though I'm 20. I am not a woman. I'm a girl.

Comments

gendered language and gendered realities

[rsadelle]

1. If you choose to take on a male gendered identity and be "one of the guys," that's your choice, but the point is that "guys" is a gendered term, not a generic one. When you use "guys" to mean everyone, male and female, you make women invisible and reinforce the idea that male is normal.

2. Girls are children. If you're a girl, then someone else needs to take care of you and be in control of your life. If you're a girl, then your parents have the right to tell you when to go to bed and how much time you can spend on the Internet, because only adults, grown-up women and men, have the right to and the capability of making those kinds of decisions for ourselves.

That's a damn good song.

[zero3kid.livejournal.com]

Sweet Home Alabama, RAAAAAWWWWK!!

Anyway. Identity and such. No, there's nothing wrong with being one of the guys, and as a lady with no gender identity issues, I can be a guy with a straight face and a clear conscience. In fact, it's being singled out ("Hey guys, and Jennifer, check this out!" etc.) is what gets to me...

Being a girl is fine, being a woman isn't half-bad either (although I'm a little young, 19). I'd prefer to be called a lady, but nobody calls anybody else that anymore...oh, well.

Y'all...even though I'm not from the south, and am intelligent and educated, sometimes I can't help myself and I have to talk like I was born in a barn. Language snob I am not. ^_^

Damn the server!