The Word Cloud

OK, this one's a must.

If you're not sure whether you're a woman, a man, or somewhere in between, then the Gender Genie has the answer for you. Just take a chunk of your prose, drop it into the Genie's paws, and it'll identify your sex for you. It's never wrong(*).

The really interesting thing about the Genie is how it makes up its mind - but I won't tell you. You'll have to go to the site and find out by yourself. Do let us know how you got on ... and your ruminations on the experience are most welcome too.

http://bookblog.net/gender/genie.php

* - Please note, however, that biology does seem to get things wrong quite a lot. Deciding that you've erroneously lived your entire life as a man/woman is a common result of visiting the Genie, and you may decide to have a sex change op as a result. Please don't say we didn't warn you.

Thought I'd give it a shot by cutting and pasting dialogue from my play, spoken by various male and female characters, to see if I had the balance right. It came up trumps every time. I'm really chuffed. Good fun. Thanks.

No doubt about it the Gender Genie thinks I write like a bloke. I asked about both my novel and my blogs. When I looked at the words it measures and how it classifies them, I realised I probably talk like a man as well. I rarely use the word should.

Interesting, I pasted a few things and it guessed me as female every time. However, I also just pasted some dialogue in first person from my draft of my second novel and voila, it thought I was a bloke, which is really good sign since the character speaking is male. Very good, thanks for this.

It thought I was decisively male from the first 600 words of my novel. The novel is written in first person from a female perspective (or so I thought!).
It couldn't really make up its mind on a short story but marginally favoured female - interesting because this story is also written in first person but I have left it ambivalent as to whether it is a male or a female writing - it makes no difference to the story.
Again it thought I was decisively male for a conference paper I gave last year.
Anyway I think I'll stick to being female whether it suits it not!

This is fascinating! I posted the first chapter of my current novel. It decided I was female, but the male score wasn't far behind the female one.

ha! the gender genie says my score for female is 4 and my score for male is 58!
it thinks i write like a man! xD

Oh my gosh... I tried two different pieces and the score was Male both times.... do I need a sex change.... just females really aren't my thing.... I love men too much.... hee he

Why are my scores in the hundreds...?

Mine are the same Chanty, it is because you use a lot of the words that it bases its decision on. Luckily I am as male as you are.

Erm...

AW

I have a number of passages that were male and one that was distinctly female; interestingly the segment of chapter one, where Sariro recounts an old myth. Fascinating algorithm. Wonder if you could contrive to hit gender neutral... :o)

Yup - a simple analasis of the words and the weighting attributed to each would allow you to do so with a modicum of ease.

But would you want to? Hmmm? You would effectively be a drone...

I want to know if nationality has any effect. The thing is American, and UK or other English-speaking countries have significantly different word usage.

I once had a long email discussion with an Aussie client called Val. At some point, I gave away the fact that I assumed Val was a woman and got a very affronted comment back. Valentine was certainly not happy that this particular Gender Genie got him wrong.

I also once misdiagnosed an American female fantasy author as male from the style of her writing. It's Americans that I reckon to have a notably tougher style than we Brits.

Woo-hoo! Gender Genie reckoned something I wrote from the perspective of a teenage girl as female. Close call, though - 175 male/199 female. The persistent use of the word 'she' probably helped tip the scales in my favour.....

474 Male - 298 female for one
474 Male - 471 female for another

Both from the same novel.

Great fun, but likelihood of being useful? 50% of bugger all.

Female Score: 1063
Male Score: 1176

The Gender Genie thinks the author of this passage is: male!

Big fat X for that one! I've always been a lass.

Oh dear, I appear to be male. I suppose I make a pretty lady for a man. Good stuff.

Female Score: 376
Male Score: 551

The Gender Genie thinks the author of this passage is: male!

Just had another check – I'm still all woman in volume two. Any lingering fumes of testosterone have long gone. Maybe that's why both my narrators are women – and why I can't do Chandler. (See this month's competition – Chandler is easy to fake, but impossible for a soft Anglo-Welshman to get right.)

ROFL! (This is based on my "Tod The Second" Blog)

Words: 890

Female Score: 1245
Male Score: 990

The Gender Genie thinks the author of this passage is: female!

LOL! This is based on my latest prologue for Paradise Falls.

Words: 3711

Female Score: 5019
Male Score: 5841

The Gender Genie thinks the author of this passage is: male!

It is, in my honest opinion, saying that I am, in fact, and not to put too fine a point on it... androgynous... lol.
:o)

Ez

I have not seen this before. Intrestingly enough, I only posted 100 words and they were predominately male. Then I noticed that it works best on excerpts of 500 words, so I redid it, and am relieved to announce that I am female. There wasn't a great deal of difference though, which is slightly worrying.

Female Score: 1225
Male Score: 903

I think I shouldn't have posted a piece that involves 2 major female characters...or....

Must be broken. Unless I am unaware of my own sex?

I am a man. How odd. I always thought I had too many manly habits to be successful as a woman without being discovered. My cover is now blown. Mook will have a field day with this.