Two things before we dive into a fun animal-related discussion:
1. With 38.1 percent of the votes, the winning book for the December Book Club is The Violets of March. Discussion will take place on January 4. Happy reading!
2. Lunch was simply leftovers from last night’s meatloaf dinner plus an apple. It was highly unattractive, so I’ll spare you the pictures and instead throw puppy pictures your way.
Assuming Animal Genders
On my brisk walk with Sadie this morning, I stopped to chat with a nice man in our neighborhood.
He was all about Sadie, saying the following:
- “He sure has a lot of energy!”
- “What breed is he?”
- “He’s a handsome guy, isn’t he?”
Now allow me to show you some gender clues…
Sadie was wearing a pink harness.
I was walking her with a pink leash…
…with a pink poop bag purse attached to it.
She was wearing a pink heart argyle sweater to fend off the cold. (Vizslas don’t have an undercoat and get cold very easily.)
And yet she was automatically a he to this man.
People often assume Sadie is a boy, which really doesn’t bother me at all. Honestly, I get it.
(Anyone remember the ladybug from A Bug’s Life that was a male? Hilarious.)
Sadie is a vizsla which, in my opinion, is a rather masculine-looking breed. Vizslas are lean, muscular hunting dogs and people often think Sadie is some kind of a hound or a Rhodesian Ridgeback.
I’ve talked to some of my friends who have dogs that are commonly incorrectly referred as a “he” or a “she” by strangers and we have three theories about the assumption of animal genders:
- They’re based on someone’s previous experience with a certain animal. (Example: An owner of a female dog automatically refers to all other dogs as “she.”)
- They’re based solely on gender stereotypes of dogs. (Example: Fluffy, little dogs are female and large, beefy dogs are male. Believe it or not, there are male Malteses and female Rottweilers out there!)
- They’re based on famous movie or television animals that share the breed. (Example: All St. Bernards are automatically male because of Beethoven or all King Charles Cavalier Spaniels are female because of Charlotte’s dog Elizabeth Taylor from Sex and the City.)
I also know this gender assumption happens to parents who have had their baby incorrectly referred to as a “he” or a “she.” It always makes me so curious about what causes people to assume a baby or an animal is a certain gender without knowing for certain.
Questions of the Afternoon
- Do you typically refer to certain animals as a “he” or a “she?”
- What do you think influences whether you call an animal a “he” or a “she” without knowing their gender for certain?
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hahahahha!! Omy gosh~Thank you so much for that laugh!~ I loved the nipple caption and the foxy one. 😛 I have a really hard time identifying genders too! But, if there’s pink involved, then I’m pretty sure I’d know 🙂
Ahaha oh God. You would think he would notice with all that pink! When a dog isn’t wearing gender colors though, it’s semi acceptable.
That’s because dogs don’t HAVE genders. Only sex. People can dress up their dogs in stereotypical gender gear but it the gender of an animal can’t go any further than that- there isn’t such thing. 😛
I’m confused by this comment. If you look up gender (using good old google) it refers to the set of characteristics to distinguish between male and female. How does an animal not have a gender?
And I really don’t know the answer to this question…simply curious 🙂
Gender is socially determined (we “perform” gender….I, specifically do so in many ways, wearing pink, dresses, bows in my hair, etc.) while sex is biologically determined (and is dependent on your sex organs. Some people are born male, female, or intersex (though parents and doctors usually choose a female or male sex in these cases and have the doctor do surgery to create sex organs that match that sex). Make sense?
Sadie is female sex (biologically) and gender (pink pink pink!)
Yes! Thank you for the explanation. I just always assumed gender referred simply to sex.
What Allie said! 🙂 Sadie is given gender specific characteristics by julie.. And it is still nuts that the man did not pick up on them lol
Yeah, I feel Sadie. People think I’m a man all the time…
LOL!
WIN!
That is too funny that he kept referring to Sadie as a “he” despite the fact she was decked out in pink!
I think you theory about the person’s previous dog ownership dictates what they think about another persons dog. My family dog is a male so sometimes I think dogs that I come up to will be males but I usually ask before making an assumption. Unless I can tell because they are decked out in a certain color. Lots of people refer to my family dog as a she and he has a blue leash and blue collar. Oh well 😉
that’s ryan’s theory as well. he said that having sadie makes him default to assuming other dogs are girls.
I always want to be conscious of a pet’s gender but I think it’s so awkward to initiate the conversation with a stranger! It’s definitely easier to throw in a pronoun than say “Oh my gosh, IT’S so cute, what’s ITS name?” I always ask for the pets first name to get a clue but that still usually involves a he/she/ it.
Anyone have a good way of navigating the issue? What do you like strangers to ask you Julie?
it really doesn’t bother me when people mistake sadie for a boy… but she’s also a dog and not a baby! i like your idea of asking the dog’s name to get a good idea of their gender.
I have to admit…when I’m not certain I say “awww, what a cutie!!” Sometimes it’s hard to tell BUT the pink leash, bag, sweater probably should have been a give away!! LOL 🙂
haha I LOVE this- and appreciate it. I have a fluffy white shitzu-poodle and everyone always says “she’s so cute!” and its a he! It’s almost like he knows then he acts like a tough guy, such an ego for a little dog. 🙂 That picture of Sadie “It hurts me to the core” should be framed and sold in stores I can’t with her face.
LOL! I can’t believe that even despite all that pink, Sadie was still a “he” to this person! I don’t think I automatically assume he or she when it comes to animals, although like you said, there are some breeds of dog that just look a little more masculine than others. Love your photo call-outs in this post!
I always ask “is it a boy or a girl?” haha. Unless it’s a baby. Then I feel like that might offend.
THE SAME THING ALWAYS HAPPENS TO ME!!! My dog is a female and gets called “he” ALL THE TIME!!! I have the same pink leash as you, and she also has a hot pink rhinestone-studded collar…obviously female, right? Apparently not to lots of people in our neighborhood or at the park!
I can totally relate to this post…I have two dogs (a beagle and a black lab) and people always refer to my lab as a “he”. It drives me absolutely bonkers. She has a neon pink collar for pete’s sake. I’m like you, my dogs are decked out in as much pink and purple as I can get on them.
But because it drives me nuts when people think my girls are boys, I’m overly sensitive to it with other people’s pets. I always try to check their collar and leash and if I still can’t tell, I’ll either ask the owner “what is your dog’s name?” or something like that to get around it.
Nick’s grandmother calls HER OWN male cat a “she” at least 3240823089 times a day. Seriously.
that is fantastic.
This made me LOL because my grandma does the SAME THING. All dogs are “HE” to her. Even though she’s known our family dogs for 10+ years. They’re still “HE”s. Ohhhh grandmas!!!
YES! My grandfather has known our family cat for TWENTY-ONE YEARS and still constantly refers to him as a she!! I’m like… How do you not know this by now?? You know his name. It’s WOLFGANG.
This is a really interesting topic! For some reason I usually refer to all dogs as males. I have no idea why I do this though now that I think about it. I mean I have 2 male dogs so maybe that’s why? However, I can definitely take gender cues and judging by Sadie’s sweater, I’m not sure how that man thought she was a boy lol.
Our male Vizsla is on the smaller side so people are constantly saying how pretty “she” is! He’s ok with it…as long as he’s getting attention, he doesn’t care what gender people think he is!
ha! this made me smile. vizslas are the best. 🙂
Ok, your Sadie speech-bubbles always make me laugh out loud, and then continue laughing for like a minute. They are seriously brilliant. Props.
This happens to my pup all the time. She is a pit bull mix and people are always saying, “he’s a good looking boy.” I then say, “oh yes, HER name is LADY” as I glance toward her pink collar and polka dot ribbon around her neck. The person still doesn’t get it and replies, “what a good boy.”
People always are incorrect about the gender of my dog. I can kinda see where they are coming from though – he’s a cream colored shiba inu. Whenever they say something like “She’s so cute” I’m always sure to respond something like “Thanks, HE’S a great dog”
OMG she was in a pink sweater and he still assumed she was a ‘he’? too funny.
I think it’s even worse with babies/children!! When I was born I had almost no hair and the hair I had was such a light blond my mother says it was almost clear… and apparently ‘bald’ babies look like boys. She said strangers ALWAYS assumed I was a boy… even if she had me in a pink ruffly dress with a pink bow taped to my head (yes… since I had such fine hair she apparently used double sided TAPE on my head!!)
I think Sadie is ADORABLE. Tell her not to take it personally 😉
That is awesome your mom used tape on your head! If I ever have a baby and it is bald I’m doing that! 🙂
My mom told me when I was little that all cats are girls and all dogs are boys. I was too young to know any better so I always assume that now even though I know better haha
your mom rocks! 😀
That pink sweater is just too cute! Our dog Quincy gets mistaken for a female border collie all the time. When he is actually male and an Australian Shepherd. I don’t get offended, but Quincy does and always needs extra treats when we get in from our walks to boost his ego back up agian! : )
Poor Sadie! She’s obviously a beautiful lady. People always think my little 4 pound Yorkie is a girl, so I just go with it now and dress him like one. Bows in his hair and all 🙂 He’s a gender confused happy little man.
haha! what is his name? i would love to see a little boy dog all dressed up like a girl answer to a manly name like steve or george or something.
MOOSE!
that name is phenomenal.
I automatically say he because dog is a boy. But I always used to call him a she because our dog growing up was a girl!
I used to hate when my son was a baby and people would call him a she, even though he was wearing all blue.
I almost always ask but if I don’t I usually say she because our black lab is a girl.
At the dog park I look for a ding-dong before I incorrectly say he or she….
But then I have a black pug with a black harness/collar who’s name is Squishy, is a boy but pees like a girl dog. Throws people off all the time.
I used to work in a doctor’s office. We had a new patient that was a child with a gender neutral name, like Taylor or Jordan, this child had hair down to his/her shoulders and was wearing yellow footie pajamas. I didn’t have the paperwork back from the mother so I assumed this child was a girl. It was in fact a boy. I felt awful but there were no gender clues to point to that! It was awkward! I have since learned my lesson and I will just refer to a child/dog/animal as it until I know otherwise!
My mom always refers to my aunt and uncle’s dogs as “he” even though the dogs are female. The dogs are at least 8 years old, so there’ been 8 years of false gender identification.
My little brother used to have long hair when he was a toddler (down to his chin, he has such pretty blond hair!). And everyone thought he was a girl. Finally, my mom had had enough when a burly biker fellow with a long ponytail called him a girl, and she just looked at him and said “you have long hair why can’t my son!”
i would’ve loved to see that guys reaction!
I definitely think it has a lot to do with previous experience with pets–I had a female dog for 11 years, so I tend to say “she” without even meaning to.
I’m an American Studies major ( i know, no one knows what that is) and we talk about gender constructions a lot. Looks like it works the same way for animals as it does for humans.
I know this one family who purposely dressed their baby (girl) in “gender neutral” colors, so that she could create her own identity. Me, I personally can’t wait to dress up my future little baby girls in pink frilly tutus. But to each their own.
People always assume Zekey is a girl. I guess it’s his lighter golden colour, doe eyes and happy face. Still, he has a short coat and a narrow waist, so nothing’s hiding the evidence!
Those captions are incredible. People ALWAYS assume my Frenchie is a boy too, even when she’s rocking pink. I agree that some breeds just look much more masculine. They always get it after they ask what “his” name is and I reply, “Layla.” 🙂
oh my gosh i loooove frenchies. i want one SO bad!
My frenchie Sophie gets the same thing!
People always think our beagle is a girl, because he is teeny tiny for a beagle, and he is a big wuss.
He currently has a sports-team themed collar on, and wears blue argyle in the off-season, but it doesn’t help. Poor guy.
You would think Sadie decked out in pink would completely give it away, But. maybe he was one of 7% of men that is colorblind! Kind of fascinating! http://www.hhmi.org/senses/b130.html
I was thinking that, too! Maybe that man is colorblind. My dad is colorblind and he has trouble with any shade of red, pink, etc.
When my daughter was a baby people used to always call her a he. And I carried her around in an ALL pink carseat and ALL pink stroller. I’m always afraid of making the same mistake because it bugged me so much! I try to avoid gender remarks altogether if I can’t decide 🙂
I feel like Sadie looks like a “she.” not sure if that’s because I know she is or because I really think that. I get what you’re saying about Her breed looking masculine but I think she’s dainty and feminine.
I have two Boxers (male and female) and people assume their both males. Guess the big scary Boxer makes them think that.
I have a 10 lb maltipoo- white and fluffy and everyone that meets him is always like “she’s adorable!” and I have to correct them… nope hes a boy! Yes with a name like Noah how could he be a girl? Poor guy.
I have a big Doberman with a silver metal chain and people always call him a girl! He doesn’t seem to notice though 🙂 He loves all people.
This actually happened to me this morning in the park! I have a German Shepherd mix and the man even heard me yell for her (her name is Sandy) and he asked me how old HE was. My first thought was, “Is Sandy really a boy’s name?” I just answered, “She is 1 1/2 and crazy!” He then corrected himself.
I usually ask what the dog’s name is and try to judge sex from that. Otherwise, it is usually impossible to tell sex in a glance (unless they have parts hanging between their legs).
I’m with you, I think people assume one sex over the other if it is a big or small dog. Who knows!
Our poochie is a Rhodesian Ridgeback/GSD mix and everybody thinks she’s a boy because she’s kind of… robust and masculine looking. She weighs 75 lbs, so I get that they’re intimidated, but that doesn’t make her automatically male! 🙂 She won’t wear clothes, either (nudist dog!), so there’s no way of knowing, I guess. Still, she’s so easily offended, I’m surprised she hasn’t woofed at the ones who assume she’s a boy. 😉
People always think Clifford is a girl. Even though he has a lot of blue accessories. I guess because he is small and furry? I don’t really get it. He gets really offended when someone tells him he is pretty, he almost glares at them. Make me think of the book Art of Racing in the Rain.
Sadie is obviously ALL WOMAN.
I usually assume they’re a he, but my old dog used to get mistaken for a female allllllllllll the time because he was a fluffy shih tzu!
This is a very interesting thought! I think your theories on why people assume animals are a certain gender are probably very true. I do think it’s pretty hilarious though that the man you talked to on your walk still called Sadie a “he” after all of the pink! 🙂
This post made me giggle, as it actually BOTHERS me when people incessantly call my animals by the wrong pronoun.
Funny thing is, I’ve had almost ALL female pets in my lifetime (cats, dogs, rabbits, hamsters, rats, you name it), and just recently we got a male cat in August of 2011. Now, I distinctly wanted a HE, so I made sure to always refer to HIM with the right pronoun. But, my husband on the other hand really struggled with calling him a HER!! Hubby had only ever associated with female cats, and so it was hard for him to get used to the NEW GUY!! Hehehe! It’s getting more apparent lately that HE is in fact a HE, because though he was a tiny fluffy little kitten, he’s now an enormous lumbering oaf of a cat (and only 6 months old!). Very male. 😉
I tend to not refer to any particular gender if I’m unsure. Although with a pet I feel like it’s more okay to just ask. I certainly wouldn’t want to ask of a baby, but a pet is more ambiguous.
Hilarious!!
I think when I see big dogs I refer to them as “hes”…..but I don’t own a dog so that’s prob why. Hah.
People are just oblivious. When Livie was a baby she would have on a dress and bows in her hair – and people would still ask me how old “he” was. For realz?
That said – my brother’s dog is named Gizmo and we often call HER a HIM. Poor thing 🙁
Love the captions!! Honestly, that is a bit weird if sadie was rocking ALL PINK. I mean come on, it’s a little obvious! A lot of people don’t know if mine is a he or a she so whenever they say “she” I don’t correct them, I just say oh HE is blahblahblah.
I try to refer to animals as the gender they are, and when I don’t know I think I generally call them “it” or “that dog”.
My dad refers to all animals as “he” no matter what, even when he knows better. We’ve had our cat Elmo for 8 years and no matter how many times I correct him, he still calls her “he”. Same with both of my sister’s female cats. I don’t know why, because he’s had plenty of pets over his lifetime, both male and female, including a dog named Sandy who he correctly calls “she” when telling stories about her. He’s just a big weirdo.
ugghh- when ppl do that I never know what to say… I feel like a jerk if I correct them. It happened to my twins when they were newborns- ppl would look at my Carly and say how handsome…umm no she’s a girl pink outfit and all 🙂