Gender Options

Kurtni Klaus:

So you wouldn't be offended by selecting "other"? I just asked because I don't have any issues selecting gender, so I want a solution that works for the people who would use it.

Would other be better than leaving it blank?

I don't think other is offensive, but I wouldn't be the best person to ask since I'm happy choosing male. I think other is better than leaving it blank because blank kinda seems like no gender, which is weird, everyone has some type of gender. Other atleast aknowledges that they're something other than male or female, whereas blank seems to exclude them since they don't fit the two options.

I think it's a good idea. Leaving a blank that people can fill in would be the best idea, in my opinion, and it could be added to the rules to only use that space to state your gender if you're non-binary identified. Making a list of genders would work for a lot of people, but I keep hearing new terms all the time (genderqueer, two-spirit, neutrois, androgyne, bigender, agender, gender-fluid, intergender, multigender...), so it could still exclude some people. It could also be left as "Non-binary" if that's easier.

^To be honest I think if people had the option to leave it blank altogether would be good too. Just because when I first joined this site in 2007, I joined it only for writing and didn't want people to know anything about me because I still didn't trust anyone online. I know there'll be other people young or some of our older members that also might not want people to know stuff about them.

I think either that or have an option to leave your gender hidden. Now I'm older I'm perfectly comfortable letting people know I'm a girl, but back then something as simple as that seemed like waaaay too much information for me. :/

Maybe instead of leaving it blank we could say "other"?

I would be happy if I could just put other. Having an option not to display gender would be nice, too. Or if it were sex instead of gender.

I get that it wasn't an option intentionally left out, it's just that people who identify as male or female don't normally have to think about it in their life. We're not normally taught about other genders as children, and the idea of a gender binary is deeply ingrained on our society; it's not surprising something like this was overlooked.

I like the idea of being able to fill it in, though I don't see the problem with people putting funny shit there like "cheese sandwich". It's not like it hurts anyone.

The only problem I see with that is that it's probably more work to make it a fill in the blank thing then to add another option, like other.

^
I think "other" seems sort of... rude. Like "you're not identifying as male or female so you're just not worth having a gender other than other". I mean, I'm cis-gendered so I'm assuming, but it just seems rude to me.

Well I can't say it ever bothered me, because I can actually fit under that category. However, it's pretty much either that or a fill in the blank thing (which would be ideal, it's just that I'm used to requesting the one that's less work, you know?)

There's too many genders to have them all in a check box thing.

I really don't know how much more trouble it would be truly. I mean, we have a fill-in box for our name and custom ranks, when we had them.

But, yes, other would be better than no option.

it's over dru.:

I like the idea of being able to fill it in, though I don't see the problem with people putting funny shit there like "cheese sandwich". It's not like it hurts anyone.

The point system allows people to have custom ranks, so there will be another place for cheese sandwich.

And I thought the same thing about the "other", but trans people have commented and said they like that option, so I dunno.

I agree with the fact that there are new terms being made up all the time for different people. So right now one might be "transgender" but in two years in might be "___". I like the idea of an "other" box. I'm not any of those, but I can sort of see where others who might be transgender are coming from.
But the whole male/female checkbox isn't asking you who you're interested in, it's asking you what your sex is. That's what I'm confused about. It's not saying: "Hi! I'm a girl and I only like boys!" It's just simply saying: "I'm a girl."
Maybe an "other" box could just be simpler. Or a "don't show" box.

WriteToLive:

Maybe an "other" box could just be simpler. Or a "don't show" box.

I wouldn't mind an 'other' as well as a 'don't show'. I kind of think 'don't show' is like 'hey, you're not a boy or girl so don't show your gender'. I mean, I know other people would use it 'cause they don't want to show their gender, but it doesn't really address the issue of only having two options for gender identity.

WriteToLive:

I agree with the fact that there are new terms being made up all the time for different people. So right now one might be "transgender" but in two years in might be "___". I like the idea of an "other" box. I'm not any of those, but I can sort of see where others who might be transgender are coming from.
But the whole male/female checkbox isn't asking you who you're interested in, it's asking you what your sex is. That's what I'm confused about. It's not saying: "Hi! I'm a girl and I only like boys!" It's just simply saying: "I'm a girl."
Maybe an "other" box could just be simpler. Or a "don't show" box.

If it said sex, I wouldn't have an issue with it. My sex is female. However, it's asking for my gender.
The issue isn't relating at all to sexuality.

evercharmer:

If it said sex, I wouldn't have an issue with it. My sex is female. However, it's asking for my gender.
The issue isn't relating at all to sexuality.

I don't think there's ever going to be a term that everyone is going to agree with as far as gender goes. It seems like whenever someone comes up with a possible solution, it's shut down by someone else who finds it offensive. But if the issue here is that "gender" can be so hard to pin down and label , then perhaps changing it to "sex" would be a better option. This would allow for more inclusive options (there's a more limited set of choices for sex, so we'd be able to include more - possibly all - and not exclude anyone who may have been excluded by "gender"). And of course, we could include the option not to chose anything.

*This isn't meant to offend anyone. I'm only speaking from my understanding of the difference between the two and from what I've been seeing here.

But on new Mibba genders are going to be identified by their sign(♀♂), aren't they? So how could filling it in or anything work on new Mibba other than being seen on profiles or something?

I think the option of not showing anything might be best in the case of new Mibba.

I don't like the idea of changing it to sex. All my legal documents already mark me as female, I at least want the chance to refer to myself as male in the Internet without being questioned. Not to mention, many people use the words "sex" and "gender" interchangeably. We can't go around explaining the difference to every Mibbian. I also guess some people wouldn't want to disclose their intersex status.

A person's sex doesn't tell you a thing. At least with gender you can guess which pronouns the person prefers. If they have something other than male or female, you can ask without feeling so awkward (the same way you may be more comfortable asking an androgynous-looking person than a Barbie-looking person which pronouns they prefer). Male, female, and non-binary should do just fine for gender. The first two could still be identified with their sign (as destroya. said) if that's what Dujo wants.

But for the love of God, don't put "transgender" as a gender.

Kurtni Manson:

The point system allows people to have custom ranks, so there will be another place for cheese sandwich.

The problem is that loads of people already use the gender option to say things that have nothing to do with their actual gender. I might be mistaken, but I think Isa/The Way, for example, has had her gender set to male and her age set to 12/13 for ages, although it's obvious she's not neither a boy nor that young. Plus, if you'll only be able to gain a custom rank in exchange for points, I'm sure many people will like to be able to do it for free.

^
Do what for free? Get a custom rank?

pierrot the clown.:

I don't like the idea of changing it to sex. All my legal documents already mark me as female, I at least want the chance to refer to myself as male in the Internet without being questioned. Not to mention, many people use the words "sex" and "gender" interchangeably. We can't go around explaining the difference to every Mibbian. I also guess some people wouldn't want to disclose their intersex status.
But for the love of God, don't put "transgender" as a gender.

Yes, I'm just gonna take right now to stress this very very hard. Please do not change it to sex because I'm putting male as my gender and if it says sex then I'm a liar. Non-Binary or Other are good options I think - either would be well suited.