Definitely frustrating. Hard to imagine that naming these connectors were a right wing movement all those years ago. Glad we’re actively calling it out to put an end to it. I also find it loathsome that one connector inserts something into another connector (Pin/receptacle). Connectors should be re-imagined and redesigned as simply mating surfaces (maybe mating isn’t the correct term either), removing any predisposition to viewing them as male/female where something is inserted into something else
That’s a nice idea, but unfortunately physics has determined insertion to be the best way to guarantee a solid connection.
There are other alternatives, such as pogo pins, but those are less than ideal in many use-cases.
I think the most useful reconception is not to take “insertion” out of fields where it’s a useful, literal description, and instead, take it out of the realm of gender and sexuality, where it limits imagination. It’s 2023, and no one has to do things exactly like their parents did [at least once]. Unless they want to, in which case, great, but human bodies are extremely versatile.
…semi-relatedly, the issue with the kind of equipment I’m talking about is only partly terminology. It’s a category of similar items made by a variety of companies in different sizes and configurations, so standard terminology would not create standardization unless a lot of companies agreed to do it. It’s something where measurements often help, but there are also some more… innovative… designs where measurement is not applicable in the same way, and would be confusing.
Definitely frustrating. Hard to imagine that naming these connectors were a right wing movement all those years ago. Glad we’re actively calling it out to put an end to it. I also find it loathsome that one connector inserts something into another connector (Pin/receptacle). Connectors should be re-imagined and redesigned as simply mating surfaces (maybe mating isn’t the correct term either), removing any predisposition to viewing them as male/female where something is inserted into something else
That’s a nice idea, but unfortunately physics has determined insertion to be the best way to guarantee a solid connection.
There are other alternatives, such as pogo pins, but those are less than ideal in many use-cases.
I think the most useful reconception is not to take “insertion” out of fields where it’s a useful, literal description, and instead, take it out of the realm of gender and sexuality, where it limits imagination. It’s 2023, and no one has to do things exactly like their parents did [at least once]. Unless they want to, in which case, great, but human bodies are extremely versatile.
…semi-relatedly, the issue with the kind of equipment I’m talking about is only partly terminology. It’s a category of similar items made by a variety of companies in different sizes and configurations, so standard terminology would not create standardization unless a lot of companies agreed to do it. It’s something where measurements often help, but there are also some more… innovative… designs where measurement is not applicable in the same way, and would be confusing.