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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The opposite happens to me. My dog in a long haired dachshund and he is always called a she. I blame his flowing locks haha
THANK YOU.
Chloe has a purple sparkly collar. Please tell me in what world a blonde girl in her twenties would throw one of those on a boy. Chloe is mistaken for a boy all. the. time.
See, I used to have a dog-walking business as a teenager, and just about every dog I walked people referred to as “he.” I always just thought people assumed all dogs were male.
Now, I did see on the National Dog Show last Thanksgiving (my mom loves it) that you’re supposed to be able to tell from the dog’s face whether it’s a male or a female. I’ve been trying that for the past year (in my head, not out loud) and I still just DO NOT see it!
I thought that most people (perhaps who haven’t owned dogs) assume that dogs are male and cats are female.
April doesn’t have nearly as many girly accessories as Sadie, but I still wish people would guess that she’s a girl. She’s so cute!?! How can she be a boy?
Our puppy, Eleanor, is always called a boy, even with her pink collar. She is really muscular, so I get it. I don’t really care if they call her boy, but I do get defensive of her if my husband jokingly calls her fatty. She isn’t fat, but she is a little chow hound and only being 11 months old of course she’s grown a lot since we brought her home.
I don’t recall what show it was I was watching with my husband, but one of the characters said something about all cats being girls and all dogs being boys. Maybe lots of people watch that show and have the same assumption :).
I think it’s just the breed/size that gets people. People always assume our German Shepherd is a boy even though she, like Sadie, wears a pink collar and leash.
I know this doesn’t have anything to do with gender but my dogs are 8 lbs. People always call them puppies. One is 10.5 years old and has gray hair and the other is 3.5. but everyone always says “aw look at the little puppy!” this cracks me up. when a person is small we don’t call them babies! lol.
This happens to me all the time! I have a Boston/Beagle mix that kind of looks like a small boxer/pit because he is brindle and people always think he’s a puppy even though he’s 5!
It’s so weird to me that the anyone would think Sadie’s a boy… Since I’ve only “known” her as a girl, I don’t think she looks manly at all. 🙂 But the pink! Maybe the guy assumed that all the pink was more for you than the dog?
I just spit water on my computer from laughing so hard at Sadie’s “six nipples” comment! 😉
My Norwich Terrier is always called ‘He” and she has a pink collar and sweaters or shirts that are clearly for females.
My dog is male, and it’s kind of obvious lol. But, when we first got him I was like what the heck are these little bumps on his stomach (and may or may not have thought they were pimples)… apparently male dogs also have nipples (please tell me I’m not the only one who didn’t know this haha).
But, the people that I babysit for have a male dog that also uses that same leash. I guess the lady thinks she’s going to be the one holding it…so she wants it pink? Who knows…
My french bulldog Sophie is always being called a “he” even though she wears a hot pink collar. To me she’s looks like a female (I call her my little girl), but she IS a french bulldog so she is pretty muscular as well. It’s so funny how our dogs start to look different to us because we love them so much! 🙂
ha aww now i feel bad for my post below. i’m sure she’s gorgeous!
What a cute dog sweater…for a boy or girl dog!
I think your theory is right! We’ve always had male dogs in the family so it’s sort of weird to meet a female dog 😀 i sometimes forget they exist as I’m so used to saying “he” on the other hand, I don’t feel the same way regarding cats which is pretty strange!
Wow, that’s funny with all the pink Sadie was sporting. I never know what to call dogs when I want to address their owner about them. I’m usually the weird person trying to look at the dog’s genitalia to figure it out as I walk by! I think many people assume Ginger is a male b/c of the exact same reason as you described. She’s pretty muscular and “male looking” given the fact that she’s a hunting dog and her bark is the deepest, scariest thing ever!
The hubby and I have a female Pitt/Rotti mix! A very masculine looking dog, so everyone thinks SHE is a HE even when she is in pink. I feel your pain…
Aww, my poor little toy poodle boy gets called a ‘she’ all the time. He is very manly in my eyes though. 🙂
Even my mother in law who defintiely knows he’s a ‘he’ says ‘she’ sometimes because their family dog is female.
I think because of that, I am uber-sensitive to the gender of all dogs, so I make sure that I correctly refer to each pup I meet as ‘he’ or ‘she’.
My roommate refers to all dogs as “he” and all cats as “she.” She just can’t get it out of her head, even though my dog (who obviously also lives with her) is a girl! And my dad, who clearly knows his daughter’s dog is a girl, calls her a “he” also!
I am probably going to get laughed at for making a serious comment in such a silly and cute post (which it totally was and it made me smile!) but I just want to point out that gender is a construct, and sex is whether a person (or animal) is male of female.
Just as boys (and men) can wear and love pink and girls (and women) can rock a tie, a man can have a lot of female characteristic and still be very much a man and a woman can have masculine characteristics and be very much a woman!
Anyway, Sadie is adorable in whatever she is wearing!
that is so interesting! i had no idea! thanks for sharing… though i think that if i titled my post “assuming animal sex” i might get some unwanted pageviews… 🙂
hahahahahaha. 🙂
I was thinking this the whole time haha
I have the same issue with my girl! She has a pink harness, a pink leash and SHE is not a HE! People are semi delusional. She’s a brussels griffon, and just because she has a beard doesn’t make her a man-dog :\
Omg! I cannot stop laughing! Poor Sadie. We have a yellow lab, Scout, who is always mistaken for a girl although he is 94lbs with boy like features and wears a dark blue collar. We always say it’s because Scout is metro-sexual.
Btw the argyle sweater is so cute! The other man must be color blind.
HA! Funny, semi-related story: years ago I was “adopted” by a cat (who walked into the house as I was moving in and refused to leave). “It” was a HUGE orange cat – 25 pounds – so big it couldn’t even jump up on the couch on its own. I looked but didn’t see, ahem, anything, so assumed “it” was a girl and named her Big Mama. Sadly, she had to be put down a few months later (kidney failure) … and that is when I learned that 99% of the time orange cats are male.
Poor guy – he was too fat for me to see … it … and I’d been calling him Big Mama all that time!
OK guys, totally unrelated note but THERE HAS BEEN ANOTHER SHOOTING AT VA TECH RIGHT NOW!!! 2 people dead including a police officer. I am near the area. Please keep everyone in the campus in your prayers. if at home turn on the news- thought id let yall know.
oh 4got, school is in lockdown!
oh my gosh, this is very scary. praying for you and those at virginia tech right now.
Thank you…. very scared! Mixed reports coming in- he is captured, he is at large…
I just always call dogs “poopies” haha leaving out any gender discrimination of the dogs 😉
My dog is a girl and my grandma to this day calls her a him ( we’ve had her for 12 years!) Hahah 🙂
Laughed through this whole thing. I have a cavalier king charles spaniel girl and I think all cavs look like little girls! Puggles and french bulldogs and German Sheps look like boys! I do try to subtly check gender, or at least check for gender cues 🙂
I have a large, goofy, hyper dog that always gets called a he – despite the purple collar! It’s an innocent mistake, no big deal, but always funny.
I noticed another person commented about social constructions of gender, and I totally agree with them. Just because a man is wearing pink does not make him a woman, therefore your dog wearing pink does not make her female.
I get where this dude was coming from, because I adore pink, and if I have a male dog, I’m still going to buy him a pink leash. If I have an animal, I’m going to buy him/her toys that I find cute, because let’s be honest, a dog can’t tell the difference between pink and blue. I think the guy assumed Sadie was a boy (despite you having her decked in pink) because he may have assumed YOU liked the color pink.
good point! and his assumption would be correct… i do love pink! 🙂
I def think its option #1…I have noticed this a lot in my past with dogs I have had and the overwhelming reason I have discovered is that people refer to the new dog they are meeting as the same gender as their current dog or most recent dog. Very interesting indeed. I also am super curious as to why people would say anything without knowing for sure. I like kids are the best…they ALWAYS ask first!
I feel like I always assume that dogs are males, and I blame that on the fact that I have only had male dogs! However, I think if I saw Sadie wearing all her pink I would put two and two together and assume she was female!
Hi! I don’t comment often but this post hit tooo close to home! A few months ago we adopted a miniature Australian shephard puppy (from a breeder in Ocala actually) SHE is always referred to as a he, not only does she look like a girl she also sports a bright purple harness, matching purple leash, with a pink poop bag holder! Even after people ask her name, Josie, they still call her a HE! We have friends that know she’s a girl but still refer to her as a he! One time some lady walked by and said ” ugh! IT looks like a possum!” umm…no she doesn’t, how would you like it if I said that about your kid!
Sadie is adorable & honestly looks like a girl! LOVE the captions!
I usually say “he” but only because it’s nicer than “it.” Not because I have an association to a he or she more than another. My bunny is a she, and I still use he.
I’ll also check out the under-goodies to see if there are any boy danglies. LOL. And now I’m creepy.
This has been entertaining, I am dying laughing that people are offended when their animals are referred to as the wrong gender! Of course this would just make me say the wrong gender over and over in front of them, because I’m fun like that. Totally different thing if it’s a human though.
OK, I am trying to stifle my laughter here at work. The captions are hilarious! Thank you for making me smile, even if it was at Sadie’s expense 🙂
I usually just ask if the dog is a boy or girl…with babies, its not as easy. People think my dog is a boy ALL the time, even though she has a pink leash. I think its because, as you mentioned, she is medium sized with markings like a doberman, which is associated as a tougher breed.
HAHA! All of your doggy captions totally crack me up! You make an excellent Sadie. I totally agree, the overload of pink should have been a tip off!
My dad always calls my cat Reilly =^.^=~~~~ a boy. She is the prissiest thing on the planet and I swear she gets insulted.
The pink shoulda been a dead giveaway … Maybe the guy is colour blind … Or thinks Miss Sadie is gay 🙂
i love sadie! 🙂
i have a teeny tiny yorkie. everyone assumes HE is a SHE. my husband said it’s the collar (which was red…i never assumed red meant girl.) so now he has a black collar with skulls…can’t get more macho than that right? (except maybe w/spikes)
my friend has a black lab…SHE is just like sadie, all decked out in pink everything, and still gets called a he.
i’ll ususally look for clues—collar/leash collar, or i’ll ask.
Or you could have what happened with my sister and her cat. The cat was believed to be a girl when she was little so they named her Tabitha. Then not too long after they found out that she was actually a boy. However, she was from that point on referred to as “she” and her name was Tabitha even though she was a boy. Hilarious!
My thinking is that it could go back to the giving everything a “he” or “him” gender for most people, although cars are often referred to as she…idk, in your case there was enough pink to see that she was a girl lol.
I refer to all dogs as puppies, even if they’re 13 years old. Whenever I talk about my puppies people assume they’re little, even though they’re 3 and 6. We do the same thing as you, our boy puppy has a blue leash and coat and our girl puppy has a pink leash and coat.
I have an itty-bitty chihuahua/min-pin and he constantly gets referred to as a girl, even with his black studded collar!
I tend to try to figure out the gender of an animal, or ask, before referring to it in either way.
I absolutely love Sadie’s sweater….so cute! I want one for my dog too!
Charlee is a shih tzu, 17lbs of fluff and energy with a blue and pink collar and leash. SHE rocks my world and it never gets old that people assume right away she’s a girl “oh she is so cute what is her name?” and I tell them charlee and they’re like “oh a little boy” and I’m like nope a little girl! It’s awesome confusing people!!
OMG that is hilarious that she was wearing a pink harness, leash, and sweater and he still thought she was a boy!! Cuteness.
Reminds me of when I worked in retail at a sports store. I was wearing a red tracksuit, a nametag, and a head piece microphone walkie talkie thingy. Someone came up to me and asked, do you work here? 😛
Love your blog Julie, brightens my day!
I generally don’t call dogs he or she, I just refer to them all as puppies. My boyfriend will go honey that’s not a puppy that’s a dog (its usually a huge dog i’m referring too)!
This makes me chuckle because I have a male maltese poodle mix. Those are like the two most girlie dogs ever! But we also have a girl dog, and since we had her for more than a year when we got the male, sometimes we slip up and refer to the male as “she”. Force of habit?
I definitely think it depends on what gender of animal you grew up with… I always assume a dog to be a boy. Unless, of course, they’re wearing a pink sweater!
I have to tell you that when I was a little girl, I thought cats and dogs were the same “pet” and that cats were the girl version and dogs were the boy version.
even people that know my dog is a girl always say “he is so pretty!” I agree with the muscular/masculine thing for Kona as well, like vizlas, GSPs are muscular too, and i think it really is a lot to do with someones past experience with a pet or their own current pet!
Your Sadie captions are hilarious…whole lotta woman…6 nipples…LMAO.
I had a female dog growing up, so I tend to refer to dogs as she.
I can’t believe the guy didn’t notice all the pink, unless he thought that was all for you?