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Glite Dictionary
to play the gender card

to play the gender card

1 8.0
To mention someone's gender to gain an advantage in a discussion
  • idiom
  • Literature
translation icon : sacar la carta de género
  • Don't play the gender card in this debate.

Examples

  • She refused to play the gender card, insisting that her achievements spoke for themselves.

  • She tends to play the gender card whenever she feels cornered.

  • Many people criticized the politician for trying to play the gender card during the debate.

  • When challenged on her policies, she accused her opponent of attempting to play the gender card.

  • She was criticized for playing the gender card during the negotiation.

  • He felt she was playing the gender card to gain sympathy in the argument.

  • In her speech, she decided to play the gender card to highlight important issues.

Synonyms

to pull the gender card
vsto play the gender card
  • Literature
8.4

To mention being a woman or man to avoid blame and get sympathy

invokes gender to influence a situation or gain advantage

Antonyms

to downplay
59 5.3

Show something as less important or serious than it is

to sidestep the issue
1 6.0

To avoid answering a difficult question by changing the subject

How Manipulative

to play the gender card
  • Literature
1 8.0
to bring up
788 2.6

Surface Forms

play the gender card infinitive

Morphology

play + the + gender + card

The expression uses a metaphorical extension of 'play' + 'card' (like playing a strategic card in a game) so the meaning—invoking gender as a tactical move—is derivable only by mapping that game metaphor; it is not a literal combination of the constituents. This pattern ('play the X card') is somewhat predictable once the metaphor is recognized but still requires familiarity with the idiomatic usage, so a B1 learner who only knows the basic word senses may not reliably infer the exact pragmatic meaning.

Etymology

The phrase play the gender card comes from the idea of a card in a game and the verb play, because you use a card to try to win. So someone who plays the gender card brings up gender to try to 'get an advantage' or 'influence a situation'.