male/female: what about the "other" box?

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exhausted
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17 Jul 2009, 12:27 pm

why is there no "other" box for gender in the profile choices? what if you're gender-fluid? (bi-gendered?) what if you're trans? etc.?

should i request that an "other" box be added?


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Tim_Tex
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17 Jul 2009, 12:58 pm

What about Cartman's mom (who is also his dad)?



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17 Jul 2009, 1:04 pm

None (Male = 0.0 + Female = 0.0)
Male (Male = 1.0 + Female = 0.0)
Female (Male = 0.0 + Female = 1.0)
Both (Male = 1.0 + Female = 1.0)
Other (Male = y + Female = x)

What other options are there?

But... Do people really need to ask this SO often? If one believes in equality then why should anyone care about this attribute? Just to use the right greeting? Well, ask people to write their own greeting!



exhausted
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17 Jul 2009, 2:39 pm

well--it's been asked before. so the answer is "no" then? (i'm not being sarcastic. i just can't tell from the response. or has it been left up in the air?"

so--maybe it has little to do with correctness or even respect. maybe it has to do with privacy. some days, i don't want to be seen as male OR female. some days i'd just rather be a disembodied skull (preferably with its innards in tact.) some days i have no idea if i'm a "boy" or a "girl." maybe i don't like multiple choice questions with only two answers.

a few questions: (none of which are rhetorical. or multiple choice.)

does gender only relate to the shape of one's gonads? (i don't believe so. but i'm interested in hearing why others think this is so.)

how much of identity overall is tied up in gender?

is there a reason why the gender must be given?

what if you're not sure?

what if you'd rather not contemplate the question altogether?

do biology and gender have to coincide? why?

again: none of these are rhetorical.


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RainSong
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17 Jul 2009, 8:58 pm

exhausted wrote:
well--it's been asked before. so the answer is "no" then? (i'm not being sarcastic. i just can't tell from the response. or has it been left up in the air?"


It has been asked before, multiple times, but don't worry, it's asked much, much less than "Why isn't there a men's board?". I don't recall an outright "no" but the implication is pretty clear; it's not changing.

exhausted wrote:
does gender only relate to the shape of one's gonads? (i don't believe so. but i'm interested in hearing why others think this is so.)


No.

exhausted wrote:
how much of identity overall is tied up in gender?


However much you want. You can list the gender opposite of your sex if you want, if that's why you identify as.

exhausted wrote:
is there a reason why the gender must be given?


It's just how the site is set up. I've seen one site without a male or female option - it was male or female or doesn't want to say. And people were mad about that too. Where's the option for born male but made the change to female? What about female to male? What about still technically female but feels male (and vice versa)? What about born with both sets? No one's ever happy.

exhausted wrote:
what if you're not sure?


Flip a coin. Ask your mother what she thinks. Play with a word generator until it comes up with an option listed.

exhausted wrote:
what if you'd rather not contemplate the question altogether?


Above.

exhausted wrote:
do biology and gender have to coincide? why?


That requires thinking and I'm just not up to that one, sorry. I'm sure someone else will answer it for you.


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Mysty
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18 Jul 2009, 12:22 pm

exhausted wrote:
well--it's been asked before. so the answer is "no" then? (i'm not being sarcastic. i just can't tell from the response. or has it been left up in the air?"


I would say there's been no answer. Those replies aren't from people who can answer the question. They aren't answers, just thoughts related to the question.



exhausted
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18 Jul 2009, 12:27 pm

ps: who is Cartman?


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exhausted
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18 Jul 2009, 12:50 pm

pps: why assume i'm mad? largely, i'm just flummoxed. but i've decided to change the option from male to female, etc., depending on mood.


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gina-ghettoprincess
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18 Jul 2009, 3:18 pm

exhausted wrote:
ps: who is Cartman?


The fat kid from "South Park" (his mother is a hermaphrodite).


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exhausted
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18 Jul 2009, 4:44 pm

thank you.


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MissConstrue
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18 Jul 2009, 8:57 pm

I don't see what the big issue is with genders.

I never felt all that female....whatever that means. It was just a gender I was physically born with.

Who cares unless one wants to go by stereotypes....


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RainSong
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19 Jul 2009, 2:24 am

exhausted wrote:
pps: why assume i'm mad? largely, i'm just flummoxed.


Just bad wording on my part. I know you aren't actually angry about this (well, I got that impression from the first anyway). In general when something like this comes up it's because someone isn't happy - not necessarily angry, but unhappy. It's all I meant.

And a mod has spoken on this in the past and the answer was no (I really don't feel like looking up the exact post, sorry; I've been here for a few years now, and I've noticed that things just repeat anyway, so give it a few months and a mod will answer). Considering how often Alex comes around anymore, I'd say that's as close to an official answer as there's going to be.


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exhausted
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19 Jul 2009, 9:27 am

thanks for the answer. i can stop now! :-)

anyway--i've decided i'm content with just changing it as i feel necessary. but i still believe there aren't only two categories for anything in the universe. that's my two cents, anyway.


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b9
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19 Jul 2009, 10:12 am

Quote:
male/female: what about the "other" box?


i have a "mail" box. i prize it apart and feel inside it every day for mail deliveries.
mostly they all end up in my garbage bin.



Jono
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19 Jul 2009, 3:19 pm

exhausted wrote:
i've decided to change the option from male to female, etc., depending on mood.


8O Does that mean that when you're in a PMS mood you will change the option to female?

The gender thing for me is just biology. Being male is not my identity. I honestly don't see why there should be a need for an 'other' box.



exhausted
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19 Jul 2009, 3:26 pm

Jono wrote:
exhausted wrote:
i've decided to change the option from male to female, etc., depending on mood.


8O Does that mean that when you're in a PMS mood you will change the option to female?
.


i don't know.


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