If there isn’t, say so. Have the courage to say the terms male and female are meaningless. And then try to justify that.
Replies
There are contexts in which you can assign firm definitions to male or female. But no definition fits every context. This is why scientists include definitions so the reader understands what the author(s) means when they say male or female. Adopting their definition for all situations is dumb.
aug 29, 2025, 2:12 pm • 1 0 • view
He doesn't understand the concept of categories being contextually dependent.
aug 29, 2025, 6:27 pm • 1 0 • view
In your world, anything that can’t be cleanly defined, categorized and labeled is “meaningless.” That’s really the heart of all this.
aug 29, 2025, 2:00 pm • 0 0 • view
So what do we mean when we say your mother was female?
aug 29, 2025, 2:01 pm • 0 0 • view
What do you mean “we?” You’re the only one who keeps trying to put sex labels on people’s parents as if that’s an important question to answer.
aug 29, 2025, 2:08 pm • 0 0 • view
Stop dodging. What do we mean when we say an animal is female? You have claimed it has meaning. You reject my meaning. So what is your alternative meaning?
aug 29, 2025, 2:11 pm • 0 0 • view
That’s not true. I accepted your meaning. You’re rejecting your meaning. bsky.app/profile/enga...
aug 29, 2025, 2:13 pm • 0 0 • view
Saying there's no all encompassing robust and coherent definition does not mean the terms are meaningless. It means their value as defined terms is contextually contingent. When I taught intro to life sciences I used the terms differently than when in talking about networking plugs.
aug 29, 2025, 7:22 pm • 1 0 • view
This is disingenuous as at no point have we been wondering what male and female meant for networking plugs. It has been about what these words mean when we describe animals being male or female. You have been trying hard not to say what this means.
aug 30, 2025, 7:02 am • 0 0 • view
Context still matters if we're just talking about animals. Is it for the purposes of writing laws to protect fish populations? Is it for the purposes of answering some sort of biological research question? Is it for the purposes of trying to strip rights away from a whole swath of humanity?
aug 30, 2025, 2:07 pm • 1 0 • view