Edit: As @bdonvr@thelemmy.club points out below
this post was submitted on 11 Apr 2026
444 points (95.5% liked)
Memes
15503 readers
1001 users here now
Post memes here.
A meme is an idea, behavior, or style that spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme.
An Internet meme or meme, is a cultural item that is spread via the Internet, often through social media platforms. The name is by the concept of memes proposed by Richard Dawkins in 1972. Internet memes can take various forms, such as images, videos, GIFs, and various other viral sensations.
- Wait at least 2 months before reposting
- No explicitly political content (about political figures, political events, elections and so on), !politicalmemes@lemmy.ca can be better place for that
- Use NSFW marking accordingly
Laittakaa meemejä tänne.
- Odota ainakin 2 kuukautta ennen meemin postaamista uudelleen
- Ei selkeän poliittista sisältöä (poliitikoista, poliittisista tapahtumista, vaaleista jne) parempi paikka esim. !politicalmemes@lemmy.ca
- Merkitse K18-sisältö tarpeen mukaan
founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
I have a hard time wrapping my head about this sentence. I don't think about the gender of any entity without more context because it's usually completely irrelevant.
So, I didn't grow up in an english speaking country, but if I hear "the baker" I don't automatically assume it's a man. I think it's a person that bakes bread and pastry. The same with "the mechanic", "the engineer", etc. It's all - by default - a person.
Now, if we were to talk german, there is actually a difference. As "the baker", for example, we have "Bäcker" as Male and "Bäckerin" as female. The reason why male is "the default" in german is because it's shorter. That's it. If you say "Der Bäcker", it's as you'd say "the baker" in english, you don't automatically make an assumption about the gender. If you say "Die Bäckerin", you are referring to a female baker specifically.
Honestly this feels more like a mockery of people that identify as non-binary than raising any kind of awareness. Kinda has some "apache combat helicopter" vibes.
They're not talking about language with the male-as-default, but rather for example this:
The depiction with less discerning features is what we assume to be male. If you want to express female, you have to add a dress or long hair or curves etc..
There's actual scientific research on this bias existing, although I don't know in what way this extends to animal depictions.