It seems kinda weird that they limit people that way. They can switch their gender by pressing a button, but somehow they feel the need to limit it... why? Just find a way to turn everyone bisexual... or just live with the problems.
I don't see why they feel he need to limit themselves. Besides, sociological fads are sociological fads. Just because they're "scientific" doesn't mean they're scientific. Take gender-studies for an example. It's more feminist-theology than anything else, but it still calls itself science.
I wonder if the children will protest against this custom. I mean if you can switch all the time and then suddenly you're forced to limit yourself... it seems horribly crippling to me. Like cutting off your hands as an initiation rite into adulthood.
Thank you for all your fascinating captions, Beyogi
I suppose it is a bit odd, but I know some psychologists believe that up until adolescence you're supposed to experiment and find your identity. I guess they thought that allowing people to keep changing would stunt their emotional growth or lead to administrative confusion. I'm not convinced myself, but I'm pretty sure they could argue their case persuasively. I'm not a sociologist, but I'm not entirely sure sociology or gender studies *do* call themselves a science. I suspect they probably straddle the science/non-science divide in the same way psychology does, with some research being scientific (experimental, statistical, etc) and other research being more about recording and exploring how people feel about things - i.e. more subjective and non-scientific. I could be wrong though. And I suspect sooner or later somebody will protest: every society has it's taboos, and sooner or later somebody comes along and overthrows them, usually replacing them with a whole different set.... Anyway, I'm glad you liked the caption.
I liked this caption; it reminds me of an old sci-fi story that had a similar premise (Decision Hour? Decision Day? Something like that.)
For what it's worth, sociology and gender-studies (which falls under the aegis of sociology) are sciences. Social science, sometimes referred to as "soft science." Speaking as someone in the "hard" sciences, I don't begrudge them the title. Human interaction and human psychology are complicated to study, especially given that a reductionist approach is hard to apply in said fields. Even recording and exploring how people feel about things is classic induction, so long as the observations are objective enough.
I'd like to read that- any idea who it was by or where you read it? Like I say I don't really have any expertise in social science, but my experience from psychology at least would suggest that some work is more scientific than others- gathering personal accounts of people's experience isn't necessarily science, per se, even if the researcher is very rigourous in their analysis. So I don't begrudge them the title either; though I think many in the field would at least agree that some of the work in their field isn't as strictly scientific as, say, physics.
Hey Rachel! Sorry it took me so long to respond; I wasn't at home when I first read your comment, and didn't have access to my books. Actually, I haven't been able to find the title of the book I was thinking of. There's one called Moonstar Odyssey that has a similar theme, but I'm not sure it's what I was originally remembering. Sorry I can't be more specific!
That's okay; thanks for trying. Moonstar Oddyssey sounds interesting; I'll have to read it sometime. It IS from the man who gave us Tribbles, after all. You ever read Triton, by Sam Delaney? That's got a certain amount of gender-switching in it as well...
I did read Triton, though it was a long time ago. I loved how the guy turns himself into a girl because he thinks the women he's met don't know how to be "real" women (i.e., not like his fantasy girls), so he wants to show them how it's done...and then finds out she can't do it either!
wow... 100 captions already. Cool.
ReplyDeleteIt seems kinda weird that they limit people that way. They can switch their gender by pressing a button, but somehow they feel the need to limit it... why? Just find a way to turn everyone bisexual... or just live with the problems.
I don't see why they feel he need to limit themselves. Besides, sociological fads are sociological fads. Just because they're "scientific" doesn't mean they're scientific. Take gender-studies for an example. It's more feminist-theology than anything else, but it still calls itself science.
I wonder if the children will protest against this custom. I mean if you can switch all the time and then suddenly you're forced to limit yourself... it seems horribly crippling to me. Like cutting off your hands as an initiation rite into adulthood.
Thank you for all your fascinating captions,
Beyogi
I suppose it is a bit odd, but I know some psychologists believe that up until adolescence you're supposed to experiment and find your identity. I guess they thought that allowing people to keep changing would stunt their emotional growth or lead to administrative confusion. I'm not convinced myself, but I'm pretty sure they could argue their case persuasively.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a sociologist, but I'm not entirely sure sociology or gender studies *do* call themselves a science. I suspect they probably straddle the science/non-science divide in the same way psychology does, with some research being scientific (experimental, statistical, etc) and other research being more about recording and exploring how people feel about things - i.e. more subjective and non-scientific. I could be wrong though.
And I suspect sooner or later somebody will protest: every society has it's taboos, and sooner or later somebody comes along and overthrows them, usually replacing them with a whole different set....
Anyway, I'm glad you liked the caption.
I liked this caption; it reminds me of an old sci-fi story that had a similar premise (Decision Hour? Decision Day? Something like that.)
ReplyDeleteFor what it's worth, sociology and gender-studies (which falls under the aegis of sociology) are sciences. Social science, sometimes referred to as "soft science." Speaking as someone in the "hard" sciences, I don't begrudge them the title. Human interaction and human psychology are complicated to study, especially given that a reductionist approach is hard to apply in said fields. Even recording and exploring how people feel about things is classic induction, so long as the observations are objective enough.
I'd like to read that- any idea who it was by or where you read it?
ReplyDeleteLike I say I don't really have any expertise in social science, but my experience from psychology at least would suggest that some work is more scientific than others- gathering personal accounts of people's experience isn't necessarily science, per se, even if the researcher is very rigourous in their analysis.
So I don't begrudge them the title either; though I think many in the field would at least agree that some of the work in their field isn't as strictly scientific as, say, physics.
Hey Rachel! Sorry it took me so long to respond; I wasn't at home when I first read your comment, and didn't have access to my books. Actually, I haven't been able to find the title of the book I was thinking of. There's one called Moonstar Odyssey that has a similar theme, but I'm not sure it's what I was originally remembering. Sorry I can't be more specific!
ReplyDeleteThat's okay; thanks for trying.
ReplyDeleteMoonstar Oddyssey sounds interesting; I'll have to read it sometime. It IS from the man who gave us Tribbles, after all.
You ever read Triton, by Sam Delaney? That's got a certain amount of gender-switching in it as well...
I did read Triton, though it was a long time ago. I loved how the guy turns himself into a girl because he thinks the women he's met don't know how to be "real" women (i.e., not like his fantasy girls), so he wants to show them how it's done...and then finds out she can't do it either!
Delete