[daniel1212]

I think you mean "opposite sex" There is no such thing as an "opposite gender."

Really? As both sex and gender can refer to "the properties that distinguish organisms on the basis of their reproductive roles" (WordWeb) then why cannot it be could be used interchangeably? I see it is used in some books.

[PapaBear3625]

Really? As both sex and gender can refer to "the properties that distinguish organisms on the basis of their reproductive roles" (WordWeb) then why cannot it be could be used interchangeably? I see it is used in some books.

The "gay community" has "evolved" the word "gender":

Although the words gender and sex both have the sense ‘the state of being male or female,’ they are typically used in slightly different ways: sex tends to refer to biological differences, while gender refers to cultural or social ones.

In PC usage, a "trans-sexual" can be of the male sex (as in having XY chromosomes and born male) but "female gender" (as in, he prefers to be treated as female). Note that my describing how they use the term does not imply I agree with it.

[Mrs. Don-o]

I understand your point.

The problem is that the sord "gender" has made a rapid change of meaning in the last few decades, through at least 3 stages.

1. Gender as a grammatical term, meaning that nouns, pronouns, adjectives and sometimes other words change spelling and/or pronunciation in ways that may or may not correlate with sex.

   For instance, German or Spanish. In Spanish, a girl is feminine gender, but so is a table (mesa), an apple (manzana), silver (plata), a guitar (guitarra), the pool (piscina). A boy is masculine, but so is the theater (teatro), the bedroom (dormitorio), fingers and toes (dedos). And no neuters.

2. Then came the idea (only usable in non-gendered languages like English) that there are two genders, masculine and feminine, corresponding exactly to the two sexes, male and female. This was welcomed by people who didn't like to use the word "sex".

3. Finally came the idea (invented by sexologist John Money in 1955) that "sex" refers to genetic and anatomical reproductive differentiation, whereas "gender" refers to a huge range of sociological, affective, and interior "identity" feelings which fluctuate and scramble, wax and wane. (Prior to the 1970's, it was rare to encounter the word "gender" anywhere except in grammar.) Hence Facebooks 50 gender choices

That's why I stick with "sex" to mean male or female, and "gender" to mean something to do with spelling in most languages other than English.