I’m not pet owner and I don’t spend much time around animals in general. (Don’t get me wrong, I love them, It’s just I know I would be a terrible pet owner.)
How common it is for people to see, let’s say, a dog and immediately just know whether it’s “she” or “him”? If two dog owners meet in a park, would it be awkward for one of them to misgender the other’s dog?
Of course, I mean without looking at the “obvious” traits.
Are there behaviors that are typical for male/female pets outside the one directly related to mating?
I recognize that within the animal kingdom, the traits are not always clear, and I guess gender is quite more flexible than sex. I would be interested in both aspects.
What about cats or other animals?
Story time!
I was on my way into PetSmart to pick up my dogs from a routine vet appointment when I saw a man standing on the sidewalk right in front of where I parked. He had a dog with him of a breed I’d never seen before (probably a mix of many). This dog looked super neat with a mostly white head with a cool black stripe over one eye.
“She’s a pretty dog!”
Him, looking actually angry: “He’s a male.” (Or something like that)
I then looked up at him and noticed he was wearing a MAGA cap. I didn’t notice before because his dog was so striking.
Without skipping a beat, I replied…
“It sucks being misgendered, don’t it?”
I don’t know if he was a bigoted, anti-trans asshole but he was wearing the uniform.
The look on his face was… Dumbfounded. Honestly, I was hoping for shock and horror but it was good enough 👍