The Small Rants Thread IX: Leaping into the Well of Darkness

[Amechra]

Something that has always bothered me is the way RPG sourcebooks randomly assigns gender to their classes. Why are Monks, Wizards, and Rangers inherently male, while Paladins, Sorcerers, and Barbarians are female.


Ok, at least with Paizo it's because that's the genders of the iconic characters. But still. Other sourcebooks do it too. I'm not sure if the random assignment bothers me more or less then just saying 'he' or 'she' for all of them. This is probably a perfect place for a singular 'they' (although using it as a plural 'they' is probably more appropriate, both because of grammar nazis and because more than one of a given class will ever get used).

One of the RPGs I backed in the last year uses "female" as the default assumed gender - which covers everyone from their Queen Victoria expy to their Captain Kirk expy. Given that the entire game is about playing fairies who Cosplay to get super-powers, it kinda fits the mood...

When I'm writing rules, I always use either the third person neuter or second person unless the rule only applies to a particular gender (which is a pretty rare occurrence).

English isn't a language that really goes for non-professional honorifics... however, I do think I may have heard a neuter one.

[Raineh Daze]

I can't really think of a honorific that is gender neutral and not a military rank or doctorate.

[Amechra]

We could steal one of the male ones and use 'esquire'.

But that would imply that anyone who chooses to not identify with either gender is a lawyer. Hmm...

Or we could steal an American South thing, and use 'Love' or 'Sugar' for everyone.   

[FireInTheSky]

Something that has always bothered me is the way RPG sourcebooks randomly assigns gender to their classes. Why are Monks, Wizards, and Rangers inherently male, while Paladins, Sorcerers, and Barbarians are female.


Ok, at least with Paizo it's because that's the genders of the iconic characters. But still. Other sourcebooks do it too. I'm not sure if the random assignment bothers me more or less then just saying 'he' or 'she' for all of them. This is probably a perfect place for a singular 'they' (although using it as a plural 'they' is probably more appropriate, both because of grammar nazis and because more than one of a given class will ever get used).

When making homebrew, I assign a gender based on the picture I find for the class. For Sniper, the best picture I found was female, so ALL SNIPERS ARE FEMALE. For Naturalist, the best picture was male, so...

'They' is not an honorific.  Like 'sir' or ''mam' (sp?).  And I have never heard anyone refer to a single item as "they", nor have I heard any other gender neutral pronoun for items.

The spelling you're looking for is "ma'am" - shortened from "madam."

'They' is not an honorific.  Like 'sir' or ''mam' (sp?).  And I have never heard anyone refer to a single item as "they", nor have I heard any other gender neutral pronoun for items.

If you're referring to an item: it. However, using it for a person is one of the few things that is actually linguistically impolite in English, so singular they gets drafted in instead.

Eh, honorifics are annoying. All the reason to get something that gives you a constant one.

Wait, how did I not think of the word "it"???  Eh, language is stupid.  I'm a physicist not a linguist.

[Jackinthegreen]

"It" is not allowed for people since referring to them that way turns them into objects and dehumanizes them.

I've heard some colleges are using "Mx." in place of Mr. or Ms./Mrs.  What it's short for I'm not quite sure.

[Kajhera]

"It" is not allowed for people since referring to them that way turns them into objects and dehumanizes them.

Some people do prefer to be referred to this way, but if that preference has not been expressed it is quite an insult.

[Amechra]

Mx. derived from Mr and Ms.

[Raineh Daze]

I still have a desire to punch people for using X.

[bhu]

http://cheezburger.com/8374168064

[Amechra]

I apparently can't access any part of the internet except MMX.

Weird.

[phaedrusxy]

I hate the pronouns because they have no etymological basis, plus they sound out of place.

I wouldn't care if people actually made some that are bearable.

It's interesting that in Mandarin, pronouns are all gender neutral. My wife is from China, and even though her English is otherwise perfect, she still mixes up gender pronouns sometimes. I think even having gender-based pronouns probably leaves a deep psychic divide that is very difficult to get rid of (or to imprint upon those who grew up without it).

[dman11235]

You know what?  It does!  There's been research done on it, and having gendered pronouns at all messes up with your ability to not be a dick about gender.

[Kuroimaken]

As far as Japanese goes, the first two alphabets are easy as pie to learn.

Incidentally, had sinus correction surgery this mornng. On the upside, my nose is clogged and I can STILL breathe easier than pre-surgery.

[Raineh Daze]

As far as Japanese goes, the first two alphabets are easy as pie to learn.

Incidentally, had sinus correction surgery this mornng. On the upside, my nose is clogged and I can STILL breathe easier than pre-surgery.

I'd argue that they're easier to learn to read than to learn to write. Stroke order is important, and proportions...

[Amechra]

Hey, my penmanship was pretty good! Back when I could write in hiragana and katakana.

I mean, I already learned how to write in English twice, so...

[Kuroimaken]

As far as Japanese goes, the first two alphabets are easy as pie to learn.

Incidentally, had sinus correction surgery this mornng. On the upside, my nose is clogged and I can STILL breathe easier than pre-surgery.

I'd argue that they're easier to learn to read than to learn to write. Stroke order is important, and proportions...

My penmanship is awful, but that applies both to my Japanese and to my Arabic writing.

[Kuroimaken]

My every breath is blood.

Now I know how some of the guys I knocked out feel.

[brujon]

Presented my thesis today. Was approved but...

None of my professors had even read the damn thing. The things they pointed out were completely off the ballpark. Everything they complained that wasn't in the paper... WAS in the goddamn paper.

Still, i'm approved, but i'll have to make some minor corrections dealing with formatting and such.

[Jackinthegreen]

Regarding formal and informal titles and gender:  http://genderqueeries.tumblr.com/titles

[bhu]

My every breath is blood.

Now I know how some of the guys I knocked out feel.

Have we been challenging the public buses to duels again?