Fiona led me to thinking, how do dragons without sexual dimorphism know each other's gender? (Assuming of course, we are talking about the clothes wearing variety.) Take mirrors for example, unless I'm missing something (for I had no idea of the antennae before this), the two are basically identical.
Is there something more subtle in their appearance that dragons can pick up on? Is one generally bigger than the other? Is it a scent thing? (What about dragons with a poor sense of smell?)
Or maybe there is no way of knowing other than asking? As a result is the general culture to just avoid gendering until specifically told? (Maybe in some places it could be seen as a personal thing, something that you only reveal to your closest friends to show your trust. Most other dragons you interact with would never know.)
Are dragons not familiar with a certain other (non-obvious) species liable to get it wrong? Imagine an anxious guardian from a tribe of other guardians, who grew up with little interaction with other species, constantly having to guess and hope they got the pronouns right and worrying that those darn mirrors are just too polite to correct them. (Of course, one could always ask when first meeting, but that's not always possible, say they're being introduced to many dragons at once. Too many to ask, and too many to remember with no visual clues.)
Or what if that bogsneak doesn't care enough about how they're referred to as and simply never bring up the misread gender? And by now it's too late for the poor guardian to ask, it would be awkward, they're stuck potentially misgendering their indifferent friend forever.
How is gender even seen/viewed in different dragon species/cultures? How does its visibility affect this?
For example, if it's not easily clarified, one could expect many dragons languages to lack gendered pronouns in the first place (as in Finnish)
What do you think?
Fiona led me to thinking, how do dragons without sexual dimorphism know each other's gender? (Assuming of course, we are talking about the clothes wearing variety.) Take mirrors for example, unless I'm missing something (for I had no idea of the antennae before this), the two are basically identical.
Is there something more subtle in their appearance that dragons can pick up on? Is one generally bigger than the other? Is it a scent thing? (What about dragons with a poor sense of smell?)
Or maybe there is no way of knowing other than asking? As a result is the general culture to just avoid gendering until specifically told? (Maybe in some places it could be seen as a personal thing, something that you only reveal to your closest friends to show your trust. Most other dragons you interact with would never know.)
Are dragons not familiar with a certain other (non-obvious) species liable to get it wrong? Imagine an anxious guardian from a tribe of other guardians, who grew up with little interaction with other species, constantly having to guess and hope they got the pronouns right and worrying that those darn mirrors are just too polite to correct them. (Of course, one could always ask when first meeting, but that's not always possible, say they're being introduced to many dragons at once. Too many to ask, and too many to remember with no visual clues.)
Or what if that bogsneak doesn't care enough about how they're referred to as and simply never bring up the misread gender? And by now it's too late for the poor guardian to ask, it would be awkward, they're stuck potentially misgendering their indifferent friend forever.
How is gender even seen/viewed in different dragon species/cultures? How does its visibility affect this?
For example, if it's not easily clarified, one could expect many dragons languages to lack gendered pronouns in the first place (as in Finnish)
What do you think?
Voice pitch perhaps, male and female voices have distinct pitches that we pick up unconsiously.
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True, but I was just thinking as some species maybe don't use their sense of smell as much (especially as I tend to humanise my dragons a bit more so I tend to forget scent exists, oops)
True, but I was just thinking as some species maybe don't use their sense of smell as much (especially as I tend to humanise my dragons a bit more so I tend to forget scent exists, oops)
[quote name="thecatsred" date="2020-01-24 17:32:22" ]
"Hey there, my name's Kris!"
"Oh cool! What are your pronouns?"
"They and them, thanks for asking!"
"No problem :) Nice to meet you!"
[/quote]
Lmao okay
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[quote name="vihuff" date="2020-01-24 17:27:02" ]
Same way animals do. Smell, pheromones, etc.
[/quote]
This. I don't know for sure about a dragon trying to distinguish the sex and/or gender of a dragon of a different breed, but considering they're all able to interbreed, I'm sure there'd be a way to tell, either through non-sight sensory information or ~magic~
Otherwise, trying to woo a mate of a different breed without dimorphism would be...difficult to say the least.
This. I don't know for sure about a dragon trying to distinguish the sex and/or gender of a dragon of a different breed, but considering they're all able to interbreed, I'm sure there'd be a way to tell, either through non-sight sensory information or ~magic~
Otherwise, trying to woo a mate of a different breed without dimorphism would be...difficult to say the least.
Maybe they can sense via magic? Like, a dragon's magical signature changes depending on their gender.
Maybe they can sense via magic? Like, a dragon's magical signature changes depending on their gender.
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Pressed Moonflower
Organics
Books: They have the power to convey knowledge, skills, and stories! They also have the power to flatten plants.
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((They/Them)) ((Ve/Vir))
Pressed Morning Glory
Organics
Artists are always taking three dimensional objects and creating two dimensional representations.
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@AEtherium
Ah, I somehow completely forgot voice exists, that is also an option. Although I still like the idea of it just being unclear for certain species
@thecatsred
Yeah, but as I brought up, especially if there's a large group at the same time, one is very liable to forget, as with names, hence the image of a slightly baffled guardian
And if it's not at all visible to the dragons I find it more likely that for some it would have developed in a way where it isn't taken into consideration at all (hence why I brought up the example of Finnish)
Or if not more likely, at least more interesting in terms of imagining different species interactions!
@AEtherium
Ah, I somehow completely forgot voice exists, that is also an option. Although I still like the idea of it just being unclear for certain species
@thecatsred
Yeah, but as I brought up, especially if there's a large group at the same time, one is very liable to forget, as with names, hence the image of a slightly baffled guardian
And if it's not at all visible to the dragons I find it more likely that for some it would have developed in a way where it isn't taken into consideration at all (hence why I brought up the example of Finnish)
Or if not more likely, at least more interesting in terms of imagining different species interactions!
Mm, I would imagine it would be just like any other animal can distinguish others of their kind while it doesn't seem obvious to a human that doesn't study them. However I also think of my dragons as much monstrous beasts as things of intelligence.
Mm, I would imagine it would be just like any other animal can distinguish others of their kind while it doesn't seem obvious to a human that doesn't study them. However I also think of my dragons as much monstrous beasts as things of intelligence.