Sexism in engineering language

[Andrew Johnston]

On Andrew Johnston Said:

On Hollowpoint Said:

I don’t want to be rude to your friend but how can he/she be both non-binary and transgender? If you don’t identify with either gender how can you then transition from one to the other?

The whole area of gender, as opposed to biological sex, is complex and adapts as attitudes change. Even biological sex not simple, as there are intersex people who can have physical characteristics associated with both biological sexes.

At one time transgender was generally taken to mean those who had transitioned from their birth sex to the opposite sex. It is now usually taken to cover anyone who isn’t cis, ie, who identifies with their biological birth sex. So it is now covers non-binary.

As I understand it from Julie she is biologically male but has never really felt particularly comfortable with that. However, she has learnt to cope and from a practical viewpoint within society it is often easier to wear the male persona. She is much happier as a female and switches when she can. So she is non-binary in that her gender is fluid and she presents as male or female as needed.

Hope that makes sense!

Andrew

“At one time transgender was generally taken to mean those who had transitioned from their birth sex to the opposite sex. It is now usually taken to cover anyone who isn’t cis, ie, who identifies with their biological birth sex. So it is now covers non-binary.”

Ok that’s fine. So your friend is “non-binary” which can be encompassed by the word transgender.

Again, I don’t see the need to alter language with a million new words.

[Kiwi Bloke]

On Kiwi Bloke Said:

…

It is OK, if you’re woke, to place someone into an identity category – say white, privileged, male member of the repressive colonial patriarchy – declare that such a group is unacceptable, and ‘cancel’ them. Because they claim you are a member of that unacceptable group, you have no say. Free speech is cancelled..

 

I can’t think of a single instance when that has happened. Plenty of people have been “cancelled” over things things they have said or done, none that I recall over who they are, pale, stale male or whatever.

[RainbowsParticipant @rainbows]

As a nudge back to the original most practical part of the original question –

In power connectors we mostly know male as the plug and female as the socket.

Powercon & Truecon fairly often confuses people because the plug lives in a recessed shroud to make it look like a socket. Alternatively source and drain are physically the same shape just differentiated by colour and different key orientation.

Powerlock, on account of being indistinguishable by sex due to its design, is called drain and source.

So you’re all too late engineering has already been transed. Male and female gets called internal and external taper/thread/dingdong which isn’t a new thing as far as I can tell.

 

But anyhow we’re in engineering here, the year will be 2424, the earth is a desert, human kind has shed it’s physical bodies and sexes to become a digital gestalt consciousness. The spaceship warp drive industry is being criticised for somehow still having a gender pay gap

[JAParticipant @ja]

Beatrice Shilling raced her Norton at Brooklands. Really no need for a front brake unless refueling was needed.

The problem with Merlin carburettors was not running inverted but a momentary lack of fuel when going unverted. The escape monoeovre of a chased ME109 was to suddenly put the nose down and enter a steep dive. As soon as the Spitfire did the same to follow, there was a big cough from the its engine. As for flying inverted, that was being done before WW1. Orifice was not the only name used.

JA

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

Indeed, now I think of it, I remember Biggles flying his Sopwith Camel upside-down in WW1 or so. I knew there was something about that with the Spitfires but could not remember so I added the “etc” after inverted. Thanks for clarifying.

[Andrew JohnstonParticipant @andrewjohnston13878]

The actual problem solved by the small brass washer was that the Merlin carburettor flooded under temporary negative ‘g’.

Andrew

[Andrew JohnstonParticipant @andrewjohnston13878]

Never mind male and female, hermaphroditic connectors are available; that is a connector that mates with itself.

Andrew

[Michael Gilligan]

On Michael Gilligan Said:

Does Julie get to choose which ‘preferred pronoun’ badge to wear or is there a “don’t care” option … I honestly don’t know.

Yes she does; Julie prefers to be addressed, and treated, in the same way as a real woman.

Andrew

[MikeK]

On MikeK Said:

…  Nobody alive today is or was a slave, or had a parent that was a slave.  …

With respect Mike, that’s an error of fact, making your conclusions wrong, at least as you’ve justified them so far!

Whilst it would be a much better world if the injustices that drive movements like woke were historic, this stuff is ongoing.  Evil is abroad   today and failing to deal with it because one believes in duff information is a shame.

In the UK Slavery has never been allowed because our legal system does not recognise people as property.   Brits cannot own another person.    Despite this working well enough for several centuries, it became apparent in this millennium that people in the UK were slaves.   Thus it became necessary to introduce the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

So far the anti-woke team haven’t covered themselves in glory.  Too much jumping to conclusions based on bad information.  I do my best to avoid causing unnecessary offence by being sensitive to language.    Doesn’t stop me from being direct when necessary : the anti-woke brigade need not fear me pulling any punches!

Dave

 

[Andrew Johnston]

On Andrew Johnston Said:

On Michael Gilligan Said:

Does Julie get to choose which ‘preferred pronoun’ badge to wear or is there a “don’t care” option … I honestly don’t know.

Yes she does; Julie prefers to be addressed, and treated, in the same way as a real woman.

Andrew

Thanks for that clear response, Andrew

MichaelG.

[SillyOldDuffer]

On SillyOldDuffer Said:

On MikeK Said:

…  Nobody alive today is or was a slave, or had a parent that was a slave.  …

With respect Mike, that’s an error of fact, making your conclusions wrong, at least as you’ve justified them so far!

Whilst it would be a much better world if the injustices that drive movements like woke were historic, this stuff is ongoing.  Evil is abroad   today and failing to deal with it because one believes in duff information is a shame.

In the UK Slavery has never been allowed because our legal system does not recognise people as property.   Brits cannot own another person.    Despite this working well enough for several centuries, it became apparent in this millennium that people in the UK were slaves.   Thus it became necessary to introduce the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

So far the anti-woke team haven’t covered themselves in glory.  Too much jumping to conclusions based on bad information.  I do my best to avoid causing unnecessary offence by being sensitive to language.    Doesn’t stop me from being direct when necessary : the anti-woke brigade need not fear me pulling any punches!

Dave

 

Yes, I should have added “in the 1st world”.  My intent was that people who bring up slavery, who use it as a crutch, are doing so where it doesn’t exist.  I’m in the US…Lots of black people bring up slavery, but they are very far removed from it.

Mike

 

[NealebParticipant @nealeb]

To come back to the original question – should we not ask notionally male and female threads to self-identify?

[Nealeb]

On Nealeb Said:

To come back to the original question – should we not ask notionally male and female threads to self-identify?

I’m pretty sure the original question was serious and not a mocking joke.

Mike

 

[Kiwi Bloke]

On Kiwi Bloke Said:

Recently, I have been communicating, by email, with a Frenchman. I’ve forgotten much of the French I learned >50 years ago, but Google Translate helps. I’m once again amazed by the strangeness of French inanimate objects having a gender (if I may use that word). Is that woke-friendly?

Confusingly, in French, screw is feminine, “la vis”, and a nut is masculine, “un écrou” .

Russell

[MikeK]

On MikeK Said:

On SillyOldDuffer Said:

On MikeK Said:

…  Nobody alive today is or was a slave, or had a parent that was a slave.  …

With respect Mike, that’s an error of fact, making your conclusions wrong, at least as you’ve justified them so far!

Whilst it would be a much better world if the injustices that drive movements like woke were historic, this stuff is ongoing.  Evil is abroad   today and failing to deal with it because one believes in duff information is a shame.

In the UK Slavery has never been allowed because our legal system does not recognise people as property.   Brits cannot own another person.    Despite this working well enough for several centuries, it became apparent in this millennium that people in the UK were slaves.   Thus it became necessary to introduce the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

So far the anti-woke team haven’t covered themselves in glory.  Too much jumping to conclusions based on bad information.  I do my best to avoid causing unnecessary offence by being sensitive to language.    Doesn’t stop me from being direct when necessary : the anti-woke brigade need not fear me pulling any punches!

Dave

 

Yes, I should have added “in the 1st world”.  My intent was that people who bring up slavery, who use it as a crutch, are doing so where it doesn’t exist.  I’m in the US…Lots of black people bring up slavery, but they are very far removed from it.

Mike

 

No they are not. They still have the same colored skin they had in 1865, which brands them for “special” treatment to this day. Well within living memory they were subjected to institutionalized-by-law prejudice and discrimination, segregated schools, Jim Crow laws and the like. And it still continues today but unofficially albeit quite pervasively in some places.

Imagine growing up knowing that your parents and grandparents had been forbidden by law to walk the streets of their hometown after sunset, live in the suburb of their choice, or attend the school or university of their choice. Or that their peers had been lynched for allegedly looking sideways at a white girl. You think that fallout from slavery would not influence your life? Let alone the present day prejudice faced from some police, employers and many others who still subscribe to outdated slave-era “master” attitudes.

[Andrew Johnston]

On Andrew Johnston Said:

Never mind male and female, hermaphroditic connectors are available; that is a connector that mates with itself.

Andrew

And there are hermaphrodite calipers, known politely in the US as Jenny leg calipers. Who Jenny was, I have no idea.

With similar politeness, in line with calling a toilet a bathroom, the Americans also refer to grease nipples as “zerks”.

And what about “mating” parts, as in carriage and bed ways on a lathe as mentioned in another thread?

[MikeK]

On MikeK Said:

On Nealeb Said:

To come back to the original question – should we not ask notionally male and female threads to self-identify?

I’m pretty sure the original question was serious and not a mocking joke.

Mike

 

My original question was maybe more in the league of idle musing, but whatever. I did not expect to open such a can of worms, but in retrospect probably should have!

[Author]

Posts