Why so much hate, Berries?

[pansy]

I am not speaking for anyone but myself but I have noticed I like the same type of names no matter what the gender of the child. I like the name Arlo for instance, and I would use it on a boy or a girl. Because I like the name itself, not just as a boy's name or as a girl's name. Same with Milo, Asher, Luca, Rowan, and even Felix.

See, this is where I find a flaw in your logic. You claim that you grew up in an area with gender bending names and that if you love a name, you would use it regardless of gender yet the names you list that you love for both genders are Arlo, Milo, Asher, Luca and Felix. All boy names. You don't list Cora, Lola or any of the girl names from your list. So obviously you do care about giving a girl name to a boy and respect gender assignment when it comes to girl names. Thus, it's really not about you loving the name so much as you wanting your daughters to "stand out" because they have masculine names (which you stated in an earlier post in this thread). If you truly didn't care about the gender of a name then you only have one name list, not a separate one for girls and boys.

[sugarfoot]

See, this is where I find a flaw in your logic. You claim that you grew up in an area with gender bending names and that if you love a name, you would use it regardless of gender yet the names you list that you love for both genders are Arlo, Milo, Asher, Luca and Felix. All boy names. You don't list Cora, Lola or any of the girl names from your list. So obviously you do care about giving a girl name to a boy and respect gender assignment when it comes to girl names. Thus, it's really not about you loving the name so much as you wanting your daughters to "stand out" because they have masculine names (which you stated in an earlier post in this thread). If you truly didn't care about the gender of a name then you only have one name list, not a separate one for girls and boys.

Or maybe she's just not a fan of traditional feminine names. And doesn't want to include one she isn't wild about just to make a political statement.

[pansy]

Or maybe she's just not a fan of traditional feminine names. And doesn't want to include one she isn't wild about just to make a political statement.

All the female names I listed are ones she has in her signature. So obviously she is "wild" about them.

[sugarfoot]

Haha touché @pansy

@Rowangreeneyes just out of curiosity, would you use any of your girls names for a boy?

[spring13]

I see what you mean, I guess I'm just see things differently. I grew up in a very unorthodox, bohemian household and all the kids and adults around me had extremely unusual, sometimes gender bending, and sometimes just made up names. I see names differently, I love them for their histories.

That's interesting, really. But to me (and, i suspect, most other people), gender is part of a name's history. Take that! heeheehee... :P

I like that people are getting to clarify where their opinions on this issue come from, at least.

[rowangreeneyes]

All the female names I listed are ones she has in her signature. So obviously she is "wild" about them.

I do love them. Just because I love boyish names means I can't love a frilly girl name every once in awhile? And I do want my children to stand out, boy or girl. Cora and Lola are my guilty pleasures really because I don't think I could actually use them, my husband dislikes them both but I still love them.

[rowangreeneyes]

Haha touché @pansy

@Rowangreeneyes just out of curiosity, would you use any of your girls names for a boy?

Yes I would, I would use Aderyn, Indigo, and even possibly Cora if my husband gave in and liked it. Doesn't sound too far off from Corey, and I know male and female Corey's.

[rowangreeneyes]

@Pansy I don't think my "logic" is all that difficult to understand, just because I typically don't see gender in a name doesn't mean I can't like certain names on certain genders. A lot of the names I like are from childhood and sometimes that effects the way I perceive a name. Like Sawyer for example, I first heard it on the movie Cats Don't Dance on a female character and in my 8 or 9 year old brain, I saw the name as female. Now, I see a girl when I think of the name but that doesn't mean I wouldn't use it for a boy. It's just the image I have in my head. But a name like Felix, I've never met anyone with that name so I have no perceived image in my head...so it could go either way. My naming taste is not a rigid set of rules or anything. I like what I like, just like everyone else.

I didn't make this thread to highlight my personal list or styles, I just wanted to understand why the forums were so "anti" boys names on girls. I wanted people to feel more comfortable posting about boyish names, that's all.

[maggiemary]

On the subject of the cart thing, I'm sure physical strength is one factor in that decision but I'm guessing that safety factors into it as well. During the day it wouldn't be so bad but at night? A teenage boy or man wandering around a parking lot gathering carts would probably be fine but a lone female (especially a teenage female) would be at risk for assault.

Men can get assaulted too though, so I find it hard to believe it's a safety issue, unless they're only concerned about the safety of female staff!

[monablanche]

To me putting boys names on girls only shows how society favors masculinity, which is why I don't like it. No one is willing to put a girl's name on a boy, why? Because being feminine is seen as negative in our society. It's sad but true. You see it everywhere, women are being shown as weak in magazines, advertisements, etc, while men are shown to be dominating these women, as this lovely hollister ad shows: Attachment 753

So to me, naming a girl George or David or Max, just ads to this idea that being feminine is a bad thing, when it isn't! Men and women are different and there is nothing wrong with that! That's why I have a negative view on it.

As for unisex, not so much, since those can be used on both, it's a totally different story.

Now it would be whole other story if there were boys out there named Michelle, Amanda, or Regina. If the names were being put on both genders it wouldn't be an issue. The issue for me is that it is ALWAYS a boy name going on a girl.

I don't think I have a problem with femininity at all. I just like the name George. I think it's cute in the same way that Drew is cute on Drew Barrymore or the same way that James is cute as a middle name. Addison was once considered a boys name, as well as Hadley and these are now more popular on girls.

That being said, I believe you can be polite while still feeling passionately about a name whether negatively or positively. I think it's very inappropriate to say "Please don't name your child this or that". I think it would be more appropriate to say "While George on a girl is not something I would choose it might work for you and it doesn't sound terrible with the first name you have chosen. Have you considered a feminine version of the name? Or have you considered she might not like having a boy name when she's a teenager?" Something like that would be much more polite and much more appropriate.

No one likes to feel attacked or enjoys it when someone is rude to them so don't be rude to other people.