• ryedaft@sh.itjust.works
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    1 day ago

    She’s awesome. They also did some Pride crafts and while her two co-workers made those Polaroid picture frames with slogans she made a big angler fish hat. Because she thinks they are awesome (she’s right).

    • oyfrog@lemmy.world
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      21 hours ago

      Many biologists (myself included) don’t anthropomorphize animals because it’s impossible to objectively quantify things like “culture”. So, my opinion is that some fish change sex, and not their gender (because fish don’t have genders, which are human social constructs).

      Happy to be corrected if I’m off-base. I’m not an ichthyologist.

    • Apepollo11@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      I’m not an expert, but I imagine when they change sex, their behaviour changes accordingly.

      They don’t need to understand social constructs - they’re changing gender as a result of changing sex.

      • chonglibloodsport@lemmy.world
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        1 day ago

        That’s a stretch. Social constructs are parts of culture. They can be transmitted person to person and they evolve independently of genetics. Is there any evidence that fish have culture? I doubt it.

        Look at how men used to dress in Mozart’s time. That was considered the height of masculine fashion. Today a man would have his masculinity questioned for dressing the same way (or otherwise thought of as strange). Nothing about our genetics could explain such a shift in preferences. There’s no reason Mozart-style fashion couldn’t make a return at some point. That is culture. Fish don’t have it, thus they don’t have gender at all.

        • redhorsejacket@lemmy.world
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          1 day ago

          According to the definition posted above, the cultural expressions of biological sex are only one dimension of gender, and you’re ignoring the other aspects. I’ll accept fish don’t have culture, though I bet someone more knowledgeable than I could argue that point. However, let’s look at social behavior via a vis courtship rituals. Like birds, some fish develop pretty incredible displays for getting it on. If a fish which has changed its biological sex then changes it’s behavior during courtship, that would seem, to me, to indicate a different expression of biological sex independent of genetics (i.e. gender). Unless there is a genealogical basis for courtship displays, which I don’t believe to be the case.

          • chonglibloodsport@lemmy.world
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            1 day ago

            You can argue along those lines but then you’re ultimately arguing against the sex-gender distinction. If you read the full Wikipedia article on gender posted above essentially none of it applies to fish whose behaviour is entirely biological and environmental. We know this because you can substitute any fish in any role for another of the same species and see entirely predictable results.

    • stinky@redlemmy.com
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      20 hours ago

      I agree that terminology is important - the original author surely meant “some fish change sexes”.

  • iAmTheTot@sh.itjust.works
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    2 days ago

    Does trans fall into the term gay now? Honest question. I understood the former to be about gender and the latter to be about sexual orientation.

    • flamingo_pinyata@sopuli.xyz
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      2 days ago

      For non-experts it generally falls into the “gay stuff”.

      (if you can explain the difference between sex and gender you’re an expert)

    • andros_rex@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      Not technically, but a lot of queer people use it as an umbrella term. As the saying goes: we are all f_ggots in the eyes of the state.

    • Acamon@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      The aquarium staff hoist the trans flag, and explain that “some fish change gender”. The people complaining bring up “gay”, but don’t seem very well informed about human or aquatic cultures.

      • aesthelete@lemmy.world
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        1 day ago

        Do they change gender or sex though? I found that confusing. I know some species can change sex.

        • Acamon@lemmy.world
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          1 day ago

          Fish changing sex is the most common, with pronounced physical sex changes. But they also usually simultaneously change gender, starting to behave in the manner associated with their new sex.

          And there is some interesting examples of changes that seem to be more gender based. This study discusses behavior changes in wrasses where “male-typical behaviors such as courtship and aggression” start being seen in certain female fish, leading to changes in social status, before any noticeable changes to gonadal organs (the glands that produce many of the sex hermones).

    • NoForwardslashS@sopuli.xyz
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      2 days ago

      Not trying to answer the question, but the only party that suggests that in the original post is “the haters”.

      • iAmTheTot@sh.itjust.works
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        1 day ago

        Well the reason I asked is because the “haters” suggest it, but then the entertains it.

        And judging from the other answers I’ve received here, it does not seem to be a settled matter.

    • aeronmelon@lemmy.worldM
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      2 days ago

      “Gay” as a blanket term inclusive of all alternative lifestyles and peoples. Like how saying “you guys” is inclusive of all genders.

      …or using the term “Man” to refer to all of humankind.