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skeletorfw@lemmy.world 1 year agoNot at all, but it does add context. I’m sure you agree the phrase “build a wall” has a significantly different implication to what it had in 2005.
Well a dictionary is descriptive, and so describes how people use words. It’ll change with societal meaning as it always has.
I am very much a scientist here specifically I am a biologist but we weren’t doing science in this meme were we? More specifically we weren’t asking what gender the people in the image had.
Nonetheless maybe it’s easier to think of gender like a name. You are given one at birth and you don’t get to choose it. For the majority of people they’re okay with their name. Others feel that their name doesn’t fit them and so change it. If you don’t know someone’s name then I assume you don’t just call them “Bob”, you probably ask them what their name is. Same goes with pronouns, you can just ask. Or if they seem like if you ask they’ll punch your face in, maybe just assume, that is okay in context.
In the end we’re not very different in age, I do understand that the world changes and adds an extra load to the stresses you already face. That said it really is just a case of trying not to assume too much and bring chill if someone says “hey actually I’d prefer they rather than she”. You are really unlikely to get cancelled by anyone that matters if you just say “oh of course, I’ll remember that”.
I say that as someone who has definitely put my foot in it many times before when not understanding a social nuance and making a faux pas.