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Meta => Suggestions and Questions => Topic started by: Hwy 61 Revisited on June 22, 2020, 09:13:03 PM

Title: Adding "Other" gender option
Post by: Hwy 61 Revisited on June 22, 2020, 09:13:03 PM
I feel like this gender option selector might be behind the times. As far as I know, we only have one nonbinary user (vtk), but I am sure there are more. How would you feel about adding such a thing?
Title: Re: Adding "Other" gender option
Post by: MikeTheActuary on June 22, 2020, 09:18:11 PM
My suggestion would be to make it moot, and not ask the question.
Title: Re: Adding "Other" gender option
Post by: hotdogPi on June 22, 2020, 09:18:23 PM
While I voted "yes", it shouldn't be write-in. What if someone's gender on the forum was "frog" or something equally silly?
Title: Re: Adding "Other" gender option
Post by: Hwy 61 Revisited on June 22, 2020, 09:22:31 PM
Quote from: 1 on June 22, 2020, 09:18:23 PM
While I voted "yes", it shouldn't be write-in. What if someone's gender on the forum was "frog" or something equally silly?


I agree... it may be easy for someone like FritzOwl to mark their gender as FritzOwl.

EDIT: Removed write-in option.
Title: Re: Adding "Other" gender option
Post by: Ketchup99 on June 22, 2020, 09:47:47 PM
I don't think it's political to say that there should absolutely be the option for non-binary genders. But better yet, what if it didn't ask for gender, and just asked for pronouns? As long as we know what pronouns to call each other it should be fine. (He/him for the record.)
Title: Re: Adding "Other" gender option
Post by: Roadgeekteen on June 22, 2020, 09:51:57 PM
I'm in favor. It's 2020, and people can have complicated gender identities.
Title: Re: Adding "Other" gender option
Post by: Hwy 61 Revisited on June 22, 2020, 09:53:38 PM
Quote from: Ketchup99 on June 22, 2020, 09:47:47 PM
I don't think it's political to say that there should absolutely be the option for non-binary genders. But better yet, what if it didn't ask for gender, and just asked for pronouns? As long as we know what pronouns to call each other it should be fine. (He/him for the record.)


He/they. Also, it's marked as one of the options. I understand it's marked as a negative answer ("No, use pronouns instead"), but it is an alternative solution. That is also what is used on DeviantArt.
Title: Re: Adding "Other" gender option
Post by: Hwy 61 Revisited on June 22, 2020, 10:45:33 PM
Quote from: webny99 on June 22, 2020, 10:42:50 PM
Quote from: MikeTheActuary on June 22, 2020, 09:18:11 PM
My suggestion would be to make it moot, and not ask the question.

I agree. That's why it's not a required field, so that no one has to identify their gender if they don't want to.


We would keep the non-required part as a sort of "Prefer not to answer" deal.
Title: Re: Adding "Other" gender option
Post by: rickmastfan67 on June 22, 2020, 11:01:13 PM
Quote from: Hwy 61 Revisited on June 22, 2020, 09:13:03 PM
I feel like this gender option selector might be behind the times. As far as I know, we only have one nonbinary user (vtk), but I am sure there are more. How would you feel about adding such a thing?

Gonna nip this in the bud right here.  This feature is built into SMF.  We can't change it.  You'd have to bring this up to the SMF people to change on their end to add more options to it.
Title: Re: Adding "Other" gender option
Post by: hbelkins on June 23, 2020, 10:55:07 AM
Quote from: rickmastfan67 on June 22, 2020, 11:01:13 PM
Quote from: Hwy 61 Revisited on June 22, 2020, 09:13:03 PM
I feel like this gender option selector might be behind the times. As far as I know, we only have one nonbinary user (vtk), but I am sure there are more. How would you feel about adding such a thing?

Gonna nip this in the bud right here.  This feature is built into SMF.  We can't change it.  You'd have to bring this up to the SMF people to change on their end to add more options to it.

And we all know that anytime there's a change in the forum software that requires an update, it usually causes problems for the user base.
Title: Re: Adding "Other" gender option
Post by: kphoger on June 23, 2020, 01:38:06 PM
Wow, I didn't even remember that the site asked for a gender at all.  Goes to show how rarely I look at my user profile...

No matter options were included in that field, it still probably wouldn't account for everything a user might want to put.  Probable example: jeffandnicole.
Title: Re: Adding "Other" gender option
Post by: kphoger on June 23, 2020, 01:38:54 PM
Quote from: Ketchup99 on June 22, 2020, 09:47:47 PM
I don't think it's political to say ...

Ha.  Right.
Title: Re: Adding "Other" gender option
Post by: Roadgeekteen on June 23, 2020, 01:42:59 PM
Quote from: kphoger on June 23, 2020, 01:38:06 PM
Wow, I didn't even remember that the site asked for a gender at all.  Goes to show how rarely I look at my user profile...

No matter options were included in that field, it still probably wouldn't account for everything a user might want to put.  Probable example: jeffandnicole.
Jeff is really the only one who uses that account.

Quote from: kphoger on June 23, 2020, 01:38:54 PM

Quote from: Ketchup99 on June 22, 2020, 09:47:47 PM
I don't think it's political to say ...

Ha.  Right.
It shouldn't be political.
Title: Re: Adding "Other" gender option
Post by: jeffandnicole on June 23, 2020, 01:51:23 PM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on June 23, 2020, 01:42:59 PM
Quote from: kphoger on June 23, 2020, 01:38:06 PM
Wow, I didn't even remember that the site asked for a gender at all.  Goes to show how rarely I look at my user profile...

No matter options were included in that field, it still probably wouldn't account for everything a user might want to put.  Probable example: jeffandnicole.
Jeff is really the only one who uses that account.

Quote from: kphoger on June 23, 2020, 01:38:54 PM

Quote from: Ketchup99 on June 22, 2020, 09:47:47 PM
I don't think it's political to say ...

Ha.  Right.
It shouldn't be political.

Where's the damn "Us, but really He" option???

Title: Re: Adding "Other" gender option
Post by: 1995hoo on June 23, 2020, 02:05:52 PM
Somebody will probably take offense at this comment, but I have absolutely no idea what the subject line envisions by "other," unless you were referring to a shared account used by both a man and a woman.
Title: Re: Adding "Other" gender option
Post by: Alps on June 23, 2020, 02:07:17 PM
Quote from: 1995hoo on June 23, 2020, 02:05:52 PM
Somebody will probably take offense at this comment, but I have absolutely no idea what the subject line envisions by "other," unless you were referring to a shared account used by both a man and a woman.
Not everyone identifies as male or female.
Title: Re: Adding "Other" gender option
Post by: Hwy 61 Revisited on June 23, 2020, 02:11:18 PM
Quote from: Alps on June 23, 2020, 02:07:17 PM
Quote from: 1995hoo on June 23, 2020, 02:05:52 PM
Somebody will probably take offense at this comment, but I have absolutely no idea what the subject line envisions by "other," unless you were referring to a shared account used by both a man and a woman.
Not everyone identifies as male or female.
Exactly. Some people even have fluid gender identities, and others lack gender altogether!
Title: Re: Adding "Other" gender option
Post by: 1995hoo on June 23, 2020, 02:17:27 PM
Quote from: Alps on June 23, 2020, 02:07:17 PM
Quote from: 1995hoo on June 23, 2020, 02:05:52 PM
Somebody will probably take offense at this comment, but I have absolutely no idea what the subject line envisions by "other," unless you were referring to a shared account used by both a man and a woman.
Not everyone identifies as male or female.

Sorry, I have absolutely no idea what that means. I'm not trying to be rude by saying that; rather, I have no idea what else you could "identify as." Maybe that's because whatever you mean is so utterly alien to anything I've ever experienced that I have no clue what it is supposed to mean.
Title: Re: Adding "Other" gender option
Post by: hotdogPi on June 23, 2020, 02:21:06 PM
Quote from: 1995hoo on June 23, 2020, 02:17:27 PM
Quote from: Alps on June 23, 2020, 02:07:17 PM
Quote from: 1995hoo on June 23, 2020, 02:05:52 PM
Somebody will probably take offense at this comment, but I have absolutely no idea what the subject line envisions by "other," unless you were referring to a shared account used by both a man and a woman.
Not everyone identifies as male or female.

Sorry, I have absolutely no idea what that means. I'm not trying to be rude by saying that; rather, I have no idea what else you could "identify as." Maybe that's because whatever you mean is so utterly alien to anything I've ever experienced that I have no clue what it is supposed to mean.

Some people identify as neither or as something in between male and female.

That being said, I don't think it applies to anyone on this forum; switching gender (as vtk did) is handled perfectly fine by the current options.
Title: Re: Adding "Other" gender option
Post by: Hwy 61 Revisited on June 23, 2020, 02:22:31 PM
Quote from: 1995hoo on June 23, 2020, 02:17:27 PM
Quote from: Alps on June 23, 2020, 02:07:17 PM
Quote from: 1995hoo on June 23, 2020, 02:05:52 PM
Somebody will probably take offense at this comment, but I have absolutely no idea what the subject line envisions by "other," unless you were referring to a shared account used by both a man and a woman.
Not everyone identifies as male or female.

Sorry, I have absolutely no idea what that means. I'm not trying to be rude by saying that; rather, I have no idea what else you could "identify as." Maybe that's because whatever you mean is so utterly alien to anything I've ever experienced that I have no clue what it is supposed to mean.

The binary genders of male and female are well-ingrained in human consciousness. Transgender people are people who identify as something other than the sex for which they were born. A transgender woman is a woman assigned male at birth, and a trans man a man assigned female at birth. Nonbinary people are transgender as well, but not nearly as recognized as binary trans people.
Title: Re: Adding "Other" gender option
Post by: 1995hoo on June 23, 2020, 03:02:40 PM
Quote from: 1 on June 23, 2020, 02:21:06 PM
Quote from: 1995hoo on June 23, 2020, 02:17:27 PM
Quote from: Alps on June 23, 2020, 02:07:17 PM
Quote from: 1995hoo on June 23, 2020, 02:05:52 PM
Somebody will probably take offense at this comment, but I have absolutely no idea what the subject line envisions by "other," unless you were referring to a shared account used by both a man and a woman.
Not everyone identifies as male or female.

Sorry, I have absolutely no idea what that means. I'm not trying to be rude by saying that; rather, I have no idea what else you could "identify as." Maybe that's because whatever you mean is so utterly alien to anything I've ever experienced that I have no clue what it is supposed to mean.

Some people identify as neither or as something in between male and female.

....

And that again takes me back to what I said before–I have no idea what that means as to "neither" or "something in between" because I have no idea what other options exist. I mean, I understand the term "neuter," both in terms of grammar and in terms of neutering a dog or a cat (and I have no desire to envision surgically neutering a person), but I simply have no idea what in the world the rest of this all means.

Probably best just to leave it there because in the end it doesn't really matter. I don't want to start an argument or unintentionally offend someone, and let me emphasize I'm not making my comments with the intent of ridiculing anyone. Let's just drop it before one of us does wind up saying something rude.
Title: Re: Adding "Other" gender option
Post by: kphoger on June 23, 2020, 03:11:22 PM
Quote from: 1995hoo on June 23, 2020, 03:02:40 PM

Quote from: 1 on June 23, 2020, 02:21:06 PM

Quote from: 1995hoo on June 23, 2020, 02:17:27 PM

Quote from: Alps on June 23, 2020, 02:07:17 PM

Quote from: 1995hoo on June 23, 2020, 02:05:52 PM
Somebody will probably take offense at this comment, but I have absolutely no idea what the subject line envisions by "other," unless you were referring to a shared account used by both a man and a woman.

Not everyone identifies as male or female.

Sorry, I have absolutely no idea what that means. I'm not trying to be rude by saying that; rather, I have no idea what else you could "identify as." Maybe that's because whatever you mean is so utterly alien to anything I've ever experienced that I have no clue what it is supposed to mean.

Some people identify as neither or as something in between male and female.

....

And that again takes me back to what I said before–I have no idea what that means as to "neither" or "something in between" because I have no idea what other options exist. I mean, I understand the term "neuter," both in terms of grammar and in terms of neutering a dog or a cat (and I have no desire to envision surgically neutering a person), but I simply have no idea what in the world the rest of this all means.

Probably best just to leave it there because in the end it doesn't really matter. I don't want to start an argument or unintentionally offend someone, and let me emphasize I'm not making my comments with the intent of ridiculing anyone. Let's just drop it before one of us does wind up saying something rude.

I don't think you and I necessarily have to understand what is meant by such terminology in order to accept that other people would prefer something else as an option in the drop-down menu.  That, in turn, doesn't mean we have agree with putting extra options in, but I think it's perfectly acceptable to admit there's something we don't have a fundamental understanding of.
Title: Re: Adding "Other" gender option
Post by: CtrlAltDel on June 23, 2020, 03:16:03 PM
Quote from: 1995hoo on June 23, 2020, 03:02:40 PM
And that again takes me back to what I said before–I have no idea what that means as to "neither" or "something in between" because I have no idea what other options exist. I mean, I understand the term "neuter," both in terms of grammar and in terms of neutering a dog or a cat (and I have no desire to envision surgically neutering a person), but I simply have no idea what in the world the rest of this all means.

A roads forum isn't really going to be the ideal place to learn about things like this. I might suggest starting with the Wikipedia entry (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender) if you want to learn more.
Title: Re: Adding "Other" gender option
Post by: sturmde on June 23, 2020, 03:20:01 PM
How about just adding X the way most states have done on drivers' licenses?
.
It's not other.. .it's
M male
F female
X category not reported
.
So, the default would become X.  If someone wants to profess M or F, they easily can.  It's the best solution from my state's Secretary of State.  It becomes an option to report M or F (and any one who is trans or cis can choose whichever they prefer.)
Title: Re: Adding "Other" gender option
Post by: rickmastfan67 on June 24, 2020, 01:02:04 AM
Quote from: sturmde on June 23, 2020, 03:20:01 PM
How about just adding X the way most states have done on drivers' licenses?

As I've mentioned above, we can't change that feature here, as it's built into the SMF software.

Anyways, I think this thread has gone on long enough.  The question about adding another option has been answered, and since we can't do anything about it, it's time to lock this down, so no fighting can start.