Gender

Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to, and differentiating between, masculinity and femininity. Depending on the context, these characteristics may include biological sex (i.e. the state of being male, female or intersex), sex-based social structures (including gender roles and other social roles), or gender identity.

Sexologist John Money introduced the terminological distinction between biological sex and gender as a role in 1955. Before his work, it was uncommon to use the word gender to refer to anything but grammatical categories. However, Money's meaning of the word did not become widespread until the 1970s, when feminist theory embraced the concept of a distinction between biological sex and the social construct of gender. Today, the distinction is strictly followed in some contexts, especially the social sciences and documents written by the World Health Organization (WHO). However, in many other contexts, including some areas of social sciences, gender includes sex or replaces it. Although this change in the meaning of gender can be traced to the 1980s, a small acceleration of the process in the scientific literature was observed in 1993 when the USA's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) started to use gender instead of sex. In 2011, the FDA reversed its position and began using sex as the biological classification and gender as "a person's self representation as male or female, or how that person is responded to by social institutions based on the individual's gender presentation." In non-human animal research, gender is also commonly used to refer to the physiology of the animals.

Grammatical gender

In linguistics, grammatical gender is a specific form of noun-class system in which the division of noun classes forms an agreement system with another aspect of the language, such as adjectives, articles, pronouns, or verbs. This system is used in approximately one quarter of the world's languages. In these languages, most or all nouns inherently carry one value of the grammatical category called gender; the values present in a given language (of which there are usually two or three) are called the genders of that language. According to one definition: "Genders are classes of nouns reflected in the behaviour of associated words."

Common gender divisions include masculine and feminine; masculine, feminine and neuter; or animate and inanimate. In a few languages, the gender assignment of nouns is solely determined by their meaning or attributes, like biological sex, humanness, animacy. However, in most languages, this semantic division is only partially valid, and many nouns may belong to a gender category that contrasts with their meaning (e.g. the word for "manliness" could be of feminine gender). In this case, the gender assignment can also be influenced by the morphology or phonology of the noun, or in some cases can be apparently arbitrary.

Gendèr

A gendèr is a type of metallophone used in Balinese and Javanese gamelan music. It consists of 10 to 14 tuned metal bars suspended over a tuned resonator of bamboo or metal, which are tapped with a mallet made of wooden disks (Bali) or a padded wooden disk (Java). Each key is a note of a different pitch, often extending a little more than two octaves. There are five notes per octave, so in the seven-note pélog scale, some pitches are left out according to the pathet. Most gamelans include three gendèr, one for sléndro, one for pelog pathet nem and lima, and one for pelog pathet barang.

The gendèr is similar to the Balinese gangsa, which also has an incredible individual resonator under each key, and the saron, which, although trough-resonated, does have a set of tuned metal bars or keys. It is also similar to the Javanese slenthem, which is pitched lower and has fewer notes.

In some types of gamelan, two gendèrs are used, one (called the gendèr panerus) an octave higher than the other. In Gamelan Surakarta, the gendèr panerus plays a single line of melodic pattern, following a pattern similar to the siter. The gendèr barung plays a slower, but more complex melodic pattern that includes more separate right and left hand melodic lines that come together in kempyung (approximately a fifth) and gembyang (octave) intervals. The melodies of the two hands sometimes move in parallel motion, but often play contrapuntally. When playing gendèr barung with two mallets, the technique of dampening, important to most gamelan instruments, becomes more challenging, and the previously hit notes must be dampened by the same hand immediately after the new ones are hit. This is sometimes possible by playing with the mallet at an angle (to dampen one key and play the other), but may require a small pause.

Toy

A toy is an item that can be used for play. Toys are generally played with by children and pets. Playing with toys is an enjoyable means of training young children for life in society. Different materials are used to make toys enjoyable to all ages. Many items are designed to serve as toys, but goods produced for other purposes can also be used. For instance, a small child may pick up a household item and "fly" it through the air as to pretend that it is an airplane. Another consideration is interactive digital entertainment. Some toys are produced primarily as collector's items and are intended for display only.

The origin of toys is prehistoric; dolls representing infants, animals, and soldiers, as well as representations of tools used by adults are readily found at archaeological sites. The origin of the word "toy" is unknown, but it is believed that it was first used in the 14th century. Toys are mainly made for children.

Playing with toys is important when it comes to growing up and learning about the world around us. Younger children use toys to discover their identity, help their bodies grow strong, learn cause and effect, explore relationships, and practice skills they will need as adults. Adults use toys to form and strengthen social bonds, teach, remember and reinforce lessons from their youth, discover their identity, exercise their minds and bodies, explore relationships, practice skills, and decorate their living spaces.

Toy (Toy album)

TOY is the 2012 eponymous debut album by London-based band TOY.

The album was recorded in early 2012, by music producer Dan Carey at his South London studio. Their album artwork is by artist Leif Podhajsky

Tracklisting

References

Toy (band)

TOY are an indie rock band from Brighton, England. They have released two albums and EP and an number of singles. They have also collaborated with Natasha Khan on the Sexwitch project.

History

The band was formed in 2010 in Brighton by schoolfriends and former Joe Lean & The Jing Jang Jong band members, singer/guitarist Tom Dougall (younger brother of Rose Elinor Dougall, formerly of The Pipettes), guitarist Dominic O'Dair and bassist Maxim "Panda" Barron along with Gloucester born drummer Charlie Salvidge and Spanish keyboard player (and part time A&E nurse) Alejandra Diez. Salvidge had previously presented "The Sixties Show" on Bristol radio station BCFM, and played with punk band Mudfite. Shortly after, the band moved to London and six months later signed to Heavenly Records.

The band's first live performance was at London venue, The Lexington, in support of The Heartbreaks in December 2010. The band played at festivals in 2011 including Field Day and supported The Horrors on their UK autumn tour.The Horrors played a big role during the band's first years, supporting and helping them, as Alejandra stated. The band's debut single, "Left Myself Behind", was released in 2011 by Heavenly Records, the initial pressing of 100 selling out in a day. It was reissued in January 2012. The single was described by The Guardian as "excellent...recalls some kind of late-80s/early-90s jam session between Stereolab, Felt and Pulp".