The Flat Earth Society
Other Discussion Boards => Philosophy, Religion & Society => Topic started by: Trekky0623 on September 17, 2011, 06:37:25 PM
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Things it is okay to call it
Most non-personified objects.
Babies
Animals which are not pets
Things it is not okay to call it
Grown humans
Corpses of grown humans
Animals that are pets and the gender is known. (If the gender is not known, it is usually the first thing that someone tries to figure out.)
Personified objects where the gender is known (Talking trees and fairy tale creatures and stuff that are personified to an equal amount as their human counterparts.)
Basically: Why is it okay to call a baby it, but not a corpse or something? What exactly constitutes when something may be called "it"?
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Why would it not be acceptable to call a human corpse "it"?
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Why would it not be acceptable to call a human corpse "it"?
Would you call a corpse at a funeral "it"?
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Maybe. Inanimate objects have no gender.
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Who refers to a baby as 'it'? I did not know that was the social norm, unless you are asking: "Is it a girl or a boy?"
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"I felt it kick."
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Ohhh, an unborn baby, gotcha. Those aren't real people.
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Ohhh, an unborn baby, gotcha. Those aren't real people.
Commonly referred to as the fetus to differentiate. And if parents know the sex, of course they won't be calling the fetus an "it" anymore.
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Ohhh, an unborn baby, gotcha. Those aren't real people.
Commonly referred to as the fetus to differentiate. And if parents know the sex, of course they won't be calling the fetus an "it" anymore.
What about "It's a boy," instead of "He's a boy,"?
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What about "It's a boy," instead of "He's a boy,"?
That's only to signify the change from a unisex fetus into a set gender. As in an answer to "what is it?" You're not asking "what is he?" The second would just be redundant.
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On the opposite side, ships and aircraft are called 'she' or 'her'. "Her maiden voyage". "She taxied to the runway"
The French assign everything a gender.
But I'm not sure it really matters in the greater scheme of things. Especially with animals, corpses and babies. Call them what you like, they won't get offended.
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Why would it not be acceptable to call a human corpse "it"?
Would you call a corpse at a funeral "it"?
At a funeral, no, because that wouldn't be tactful, but if you happened to come across a random rotting corpse you would probably refer to it as "it".
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^ That happens to me often enough for me to verify what you say.
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On the opposite side, ships and aircraft are called 'she' or 'her'. "Her maiden voyage". "She taxied to the runway"
The French assign everything a gender.
But I'm not sure it really matters in the greater scheme of things. Especially with animals, corpses and babies. Call them what you like, they won't get offended.
Apart from the Bismarck, funnily enough. That was a he.
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In Finland, we call everything "it" in colloquial language. We don't discriminate. (or at least we discriminate everything equally)
But to your question: Corpses are "it", but deceased persons aren't, because you're still referring to them as a person instead of a corpse.
I would personally call pets "it", but I guess it's a sentimental thing for most people. Rooster already pointed out the deal with babies. Have you ever heard anyone call a baby "it" after its sex has been determined?
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But to your question: Corpses are "it", but deceased persons aren't, because you're still referring to them as a person instead of a corpse.
No, I'm not.
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But to your question: Corpses are "it", but deceased persons aren't, because you're still referring to them as a person instead of a corpse.
No, I'm not.
Sorry, do you not use "it" for corpses, then?
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But to your question: Corpses are "it", but deceased persons aren't, because you're still referring to them as a person instead of a corpse.
No, I'm not.
Sorry, do you not use "it" for corpses, then?
I do. Deceased persons are corpses.
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Well, it looks like we've got ourselves a circular argument. Anyway, Swedes have two words for "it" which I hear were supposedly once male and female, but they've since lost that meaning.
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But to your question: Corpses are "it", but deceased persons aren't, because you're still referring to them as a person instead of a corpse.
No, I'm not.
Sorry, do you not use "it" for corpses, then?
I do. Deceased persons are corpses.
Personality != physical body
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But to your question: Corpses are "it", but deceased persons aren't, because you're still referring to them as a person instead of a corpse.
No, I'm not.
Sorry, do you not use "it" for corpses, then?
I do. Deceased persons are corpses.
Personality != physical body
A "person" who is dead no longer has a personality.
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But to your question: Corpses are "it", but deceased persons aren't, because you're still referring to them as a person instead of a corpse.
No, I'm not.
Sorry, do you not use "it" for corpses, then?
I do. Deceased persons are corpses.
Personality != physical body
A "person" who is dead no longer has a personality.
Which doesn't stop us from referring to it.
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But to your question: Corpses are "it", but deceased persons aren't, because you're still referring to them as a person instead of a corpse.
No, I'm not.
Sorry, do you not use "it" for corpses, then?
I do. Deceased persons are corpses.
Personality != physical body
A "person" who is dead no longer has a personality.
Which doesn't stop us from referring to it.
Right. I realise now that there was never any disagreement!
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But to your question: Corpses are "it", but deceased persons aren't, because you're still referring to them as a person instead of a corpse.
No, I'm not.
Sorry, do you not use "it" for corpses, then?
I do. Deceased persons are corpses.
Personality != physical body
A "person" who is dead no longer has a personality.
Which doesn't stop us from referring to it.
Right. I realise now that there was never any disagreement!
Yeah, I didn't think there was any either.
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Especially with animals, corpses and babies. Call them what you like, they won't get offended.
But the owners, relatives/friends, and parents will.
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Especially with animals, corpses and babies. Call them what you like, they won't get offended.
But the owners, relatives/friends, and parents will.
Say it quietly.
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But the owners, relatives/friends, and parents will.
Say it quietly.
I knew I liked you.
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Especially with animals, corpses and babies. Call them what you like, they won't get offended.
But the owners, relatives/friends, and parents will.
Depends. Some people are too busy caring about real issues to give a fuck.
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Depends. Some people are too busy caring about real issues to give a fuck.
I doubt someone having their adorable new born baby called an "it" will be worrying about war, poverty, or global warming right at that instant. ::)
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I can be excused as I always refer to stranger babies as it because I am concerned with the dangers of unwashed cantaloupe.