Why do so many jellies have unisex names?
Asked by
Aster (
20028
)
October 31st, 2010
There are so many jellies whose names are neither male nor female and I can’t figure out if they’re men or women. Why do they do this?
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49 Answers
I’m feline.. Off to meta.
Because maybe advertising gender is not so important to us.
What does it matter, really?
It is not a criticism. It is a curiosity.
When a new user creates a profile, they may not know what it is all about. For some, having their sex made obvious through a name may not be important, and for others they may not want it to be obvious.
As long as someone responds with a helpful response, does it really matter? I’ve read some female-specific questions that were responded to by men that were more accurate than anything I could have submitted.
Trying to pull the wool over our eyes!
Because it’s fun to mess with people’s minds.
@Pied_Pfeffer “and for others they may not want it to be obvious.” I know, but why does it matter as @Simone de Beauvoir said?
@Aster You’re the one who seemed to imply that it mattered by asking the question. I enjoy the ambiguity; although I also enjoy finding out in the course of Fluther what sex or gender, if any, a person identifies as.
My guess would be that they would prefer to be judged on the validity of their responses and not on their gender. If and when the feel so inclined, they’ll make it known.
@janbb I feel the same way that you do.
Ok; it has to do with the “not wanting to identify with ..” etc. Thank you. I was just wondering.
I don’t think it’s generally because of a desire not to be known as that gender, but rather just that there are other things that they would like to be identified as immediately.
I would say that it’s just like picking an avatar that isn’t a picture of your face. Because the users find pictures of their dogs, or favorite characters, or flowers, or whatever, to be a more important aspect of what they represent than just a simple picture of themselves.
So, @Aster, why did you pick a unisex name?
IDK but I’m a girl in case you didn’t know
@Sarcasm I did? I thought Aster being a flower that you would know I’m female. Does Aster sounds like a man’s name?
So’s the guys won’t all hit on the ladies.
@Aster I’d never heard of Aster being a flower, nor a human’s name.
and if it sounded like a man’s name, I wouldn’t have had any reason to ask “why did you pick a unisex name?”.
So building on that, maybe a lot more people do have names that somehow identify their gender, but maybe you just don’t recognize it (just as I didn’t recognize that your name was a flower).
I knew ‘Aster’ is a flower, as well as that ‘Astor’ is a masculine name. The other avatar pictures were a hint that you are female.
Gender doesn’t play a role in my identity. I chose my username because I like Muppets. Quite simple, really. So I suppose my line of reasoning is a mix of what @marinelife and @Sarcasm have suggested.
Both the pen names I have chosen (one exclusively for children’s literature, the other for the rest of my projects) are unisex, too. It’s completely intentional. I think what and how I write is more important to the reader than who I am and where I come from.
^^^^^^^^^ I think what we write is more important than our gender, too. I was just curious if using a unisex name was intentional and , if so, why? But now I get it. It has to do with , “I don’t wish to be identified with either sex” or something like that. Forgive me; I’ve not kept up to date, I guess, and had never heard of that particular approach to gender.
When I join message boards it doesn’t even occur to me to pick a gender specific name. I am a man, but I don’t feel the need to proclaim it to the world.
^^^^^^^^^^^^ Oh, you’re a man? Thanks; I wondered about that but now I know.
I feel so out of step. I almost regret being “Aster” and sort of wish I could now be, “Cornflake” or something. lol ..sort of…
I know what gender I am, and that’s what matters most.
Probably because most people pick usernames rather than put down their actual names, and a username can be so many different things.
It never occurred to me to pick a masculine or feminine username. It just didn’t enter into my choice at all.
I picked my name so people couldn’t determine my gender.
~
I’ve been using this name since I was 12 years old, so for about 17 years now. I don’t see any reason to stop using it because I like it.
^^^^^^^ I don’t see any reason why you should stop using it and I wouldn’t allow anyone to suggest otherwise.
Most people seem to have no trouble with my name. Perhaps it’s because they’ve read a couple of things I’ve written. I don’t try to hide it, nor do I try to make it obvious. I guess I think I’m obvious even if my name might not be.
I like your posts, that’s for sure but male or female? Dunno; can’t keep them straight. lol
I wonder if I pay more attention than the average Jelly; I’m confident I know the sex of most 5000+ lurve members.
@marinelife It is if you don’t want me calling you a guy. Or a girl.
D’ah! Fooled again!
@BoBo1946 Where is Bo Diddley’s a Gunslinger?? That was his album!! which I have.
just for clarification—don’t want the spell cop putting da man in jail!
Many people believe that gender appropriate answers will somehow be limiting. For instance, how will an answer directed to a woman help a trans gender person? There is a lot of misconceptions about gender limiting vs gender appropriate issues.
I didn’t factor masculinity or femininity into my name choice. I didn’t think about whether it would make me seem like male or a female, it just didn’t occur to me.
Although, I have gotten many people thinking I was a guy.
@bob_ Don’t you mean all manwich? ;)
@Aster Yo, I thought you were a dude.
What would have made you think that? lol
I think all of you are dudes until you get upset and say otherwise. @rangerr throws fits like you’ve never seen.
lawl, you blew up in the chat once.
~t’was an exaggeration, simmah down.~
I never considered gender when choosing my username. I just wanted a name and profile picture that said something about me. My username is actually a nickname that I recieved in high school when I shot archery competitively (maybe someday I’ll get to do it again). Now I’m curious…is my gender clear from my name?
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