One benefit of the COVID-19 pandemic was that many conferences shifted to virtual setups. This has allowed me to attend conferences that normally would be in other states that I didn't have the time to travel to. So far I've only attended the Philly Trans Wellness Conference, but I also plan on attending Grace Hopper's Celebration of Women in Computing, the oSTEM National Conference, and the CMD-IT/ACM Richard Tapia Celebration of Diversity in Computing. I've also recently started the long agonizing process of applying for grad schools. This had led to me filling out a concerning number of applications. Applications almost always include a "Select your Gender" question that I rarely seen done in a way that is accurate. As a result of my constant frustration, I've decided I'll just write up a quick informational post.
Let's start with probably the most common, but also most frustrating option.
What is your gender?
- Male
- Female
Here, we include Male and Female, but no other genders. Since there's more than two genders, we can assume the question is asking not about gender, but perhaps biological sex or whats listed on your birth certificate. In this case too, the question is inaccurate since biological sex isn't binary. People can be born with both types of sex organs. People can have chromosomes outside of XX and XY. So this question is inaccurate in so many ways.
What is your gender?
- Male
- Female
- Other/Nonbinary/Third Gender
So this option looks better than the one above it because it gives the appearance of being more inclusive, but now instead of a false gender binary, we've created a false gender trinary. This is still very uninformative.
Please Enter Your Gender Identity: ______
This one is great! It allows for users to enter their gender exactly as they experience it without any boxes for them to force themselves into. However, when it comes to data collection, this is a horrible option. Are 'Man' and 'male' considered the same thing? Would 'mlae' be considered a misspelled 'male' or an intentional separate identity?
So knowing that gender identities are complex, and these labels are used more as descriptors instead of boxes to fit into, we need to make sure people can choose more than one option. This allows for people to accurately identify themselves, which beyond being more inclusive, allows for more accurate data collection.
How do you identify? Choose all that apply:
- Cisgender
- Transgender
- Nonbinary
- Male
- Female
- Two-Spirit
- Intersex
- Other (Please Specify) ______
- Prefer Not To Say
So some things I've intentionally done here. 'Cisgender', 'Transgender', and 'Nonbinary' all come before 'Male' and 'Female'. I've done this specifically to avoid the "Men and Transgender Men" issue and instead refocus to "Cisgender Men and Transgender Men". By appending cisgender to male, it normalizes transgender men as real men, and avoids considering cisgender men as the default men. It's important to include both 'Cisgender' and 'Transgender' because while, in some cases, both are included in 'Male' and 'Female', these are two separate identities with different needs. Transgender people that are medically transitioning require specific healthcare needs. If you provide heath insurance to your employees, does that insurance cover hormone replacement therapy? That includes the hormone prescriptions, blood work every three months, and a doctors appointment every three months. Does the health insurance consider trans surgery medically necessary or "cosmetic"? If you are trying to collect demographics on your employees to choose a health insurance network, and do not separate 'Cisgender' and 'Transgender', then you don't know if you need to take trans healthcare into consideration.
I've also included 'Two-Spirit' since it's a sacred Native American gender that is considered separate from other modern terms to describe gender. I've included 'Intersex' which is an identity regarding nonbinary biological sex. It also is separate from the other gender labels, but can also be used in conjunction with them. From there, there's also 'Prefer Not To Say' for people who don't wish to identify themselves in addition to an option to self identify.
As mentioned before, it's impossible to include every single gender label that someone could identify with. By using multiple umbrella terms that people can select multiple of, we can cover a larger selection of identities. We will never have a completely accurate "describe your gender identity" question. There are too many types of gender identities and experiences that can't be described using multiple choice. Every person experiences their gender in a different way. Gender is also highly cultural, so people of different cultures may interpret the same gender differently. The only way to have a completely accurate collection of gender identity would be a fill in the blank question where people can self identify. This is not a good solution though when collecting and analyzing large amounts of data.
Once again this entire question is based around what data you're trying to collect and your intentions. If you are trying to connect specific information to specific people, then a fill in the blank option is possible. If you're trying to gain demographics, then a fill in the blank option isn't possible. As I said before though, if you are trying to get specific information about specific people, then is their gender identity necessary? For example, people of all gender identities can grow facial hair, so if you're surveying to find out who needs shaving supplies, the gender identity question isn't helpful. If you're trying to get a list of people and their contact information, the gender identity question isn't helpful, however, asking for someones pronouns is. In this case, since each set of pronouns is directly attached to a person, a fill in the blank question is beneficial.
At the end of the day, it comes down to knowing why you're collecting data. That way you can make sure you're collecting data in a way that's accurate and useful.