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Help[Facts] Re: Why are male names being used for Females now but not Female names for Males?
in reply to a message by Wish Fish
Sexism.
The essence of sexism is the idea that it is better to be male than female. As such it is "OK" for girls and women to adopt masculine fashions -- not just in names but in clothing, etc. -- because it shows they are aspiring to the "higher" status,. But for a male to have a characteristic which is generally considered "female" in the culture, whether it's having a name predominantly borne by females or wearing a dress or lipstick, is for him to be "contaminated" by the lower status.
So in English speaking countries, where for the most part parents can legally give a child any name they choose, the tendency for several centuries has been that some formerly male names become popular for girls, and about then within a decade or two parents stop giving those names to boys, since the name as become "devalued" for boys by being given to many girls. This process may have slowed down a bit the last couple of decades as modern views on gender are changing, but it still is operating. If you look at the USA popularity chart for Riley, for instance, you will see that the name was rapidly increasing for both boys and girls between 1990 and 2002, which is when the number of girls born with the name surpoassed the boys, and then it started decreasing for boys while it was still increasing for girls.
The essence of sexism is the idea that it is better to be male than female. As such it is "OK" for girls and women to adopt masculine fashions -- not just in names but in clothing, etc. -- because it shows they are aspiring to the "higher" status,. But for a male to have a characteristic which is generally considered "female" in the culture, whether it's having a name predominantly borne by females or wearing a dress or lipstick, is for him to be "contaminated" by the lower status.
So in English speaking countries, where for the most part parents can legally give a child any name they choose, the tendency for several centuries has been that some formerly male names become popular for girls, and about then within a decade or two parents stop giving those names to boys, since the name as become "devalued" for boys by being given to many girls. This process may have slowed down a bit the last couple of decades as modern views on gender are changing, but it still is operating. If you look at the USA popularity chart for Riley, for instance, you will see that the name was rapidly increasing for both boys and girls between 1990 and 2002, which is when the number of girls born with the name surpoassed the boys, and then it started decreasing for boys while it was still increasing for girls.
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