When two parts fit together correctly they are said to form a “coupling” or that they are “mated together”.
For this to happen one part must fit correctly into the other.
In the manmade world
In electrical and mechanical trades and manufacturing, each half of a pair of mating connectors or fasteners is conventionally assigned the designation male or female.1
This terminology is taken directly from genitalia and sexual intercourse and when the two corresponding parts are correctly joined together they are said to mate.
Schematic symbols for male and female connector pins
Female nut threaded onto a male bolt
It is physically impossible to marry a male component directly into another male, just as it is also physically impossible to fit a female into another female, as these will not marry or mate together.
Whenever we make something or build something this is a principle that governs mechanics, and we can see examples of this over and over again.
Toy brick connections are male on top, and female underneath.
A male threaded pipe (left), and female threaded elbow
There are other types of connections where both components carry both aspects (male and female) however these are designated as being Genderless, Hermaphroditic or even Androgynous. 2
In Nature
In the natural world the Mating Season, as it is often called, occurs when the males join together with the females in order to engage in the act of procreation. Zoologists describe the actions of animals at this time in terms of a courtship with its ultimate goal of reproduction.
The word “mate” has always been used in relation to the relationships of people. Its origins are found in Middle Low German and Proto-Germanic. In the 14th Century it meant “one eating at the same table” however from the 1540’s onward it meant “one of a wedded pair, and by the late 16th Century it came to mean “to match, to couple, marry or to join in marriage.” 3
Marriage
The word marriage dates back to the 14th century and means “the action of marrying or entry into wedlock”. It also means the state or condition of being husband and wife”.4
Wedlock refers to the marriage vow originating in the Old English word wedlac. 5
So we can see that in both nature and in mechanics marriage is defined as the physical union of a male and a female. It is physically impossible for a marriage to occur between to components of the same gender because they cannot “mate” or “couple” together.
2015. John Hayworth
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