Gender

On DDO they're talking about adding a gender option other than male or female. I like that idea in principle but I thought I'd get some community feedback first. Also, what should I call it? "Other"?

I don't really accept the argument that it should be added to the privacy settings - that's just part of a normal social networking site in my opinion. Hiding genders does nothing to undermine gender bias. But I'm open to your thoughts on this too.

admin: Ugh. Personally I always think this stuff is PC gone mad, but yeah whatever.

admin: Yay! Now my hamster can have a account!

Pinkie: Does your hamster not have a gender?

admin: It does have a gender but it's not a person so it's other.

Pinkie: I never said "male person" or "female person". So long as it's actually your hamster creating the account and not you on the hamster's behalf I'm cool with the hamster putting down whatever gender they please.

admin: Oh, well, then I guess other isn't going to be necessary, they can just not put one down if they are confused.

Pinkie: It's a mandatory field. Mostly because of the pronoun thing.

admin: If it's mandatory why are you asking?

Pinkie: To know whether there should be an other option.

admin: I don't think it really matters. People either are a male or female anyways... Just my opinion though..

GodChoosesLife: Well - 1 in 2000 people are actually technically neither.

Oh! I thought you meant it was mandatory to have that option. And I guess you're right about that. Maybe but other just doesn't seem like the right word.

admin: LOL, what?! That sounds unrealistic then?...

(I like the colors on here lol *random)

Pinkie: Suggest something else?

GodChoosesLife: http://www.gotquestions.org/hermaphrodites.html

Pinkie: THanks..

GodChoosesLife: Yep.

Alright! Gender 101: When someone is not male or female, they is referred to as "they," even though "they" is usually thought of as singular. One NEVER uses the word "it" for a person. Additionally, the word "it" should not refer to nonhuman animals, but instead "she" or "he" or "s/he."

Now, it is important to realize that "sex" and "gender" are not the same thing, though they are related. "Sex" refers to physical differences, including primary sex characteristics such as hormones and genitalia, and also secondary sex characteristics such as beards, adam's apples, voice differences, breast/hip sizes, etc. However, these sex characteristics are not always clear cut. An award-winning female athlete lost her medal because she had hormonal levels that the olymipics determined made her a man. Additionally, there are those who, through hormone changes such as through the use of steroids, have developed characteristics typical of the other sex; and many people identify as "intersex" (or "hermaphrodytic," though this is a biologic term that is very offense outside of biology). Intersex persons have primary and/or secondary sex traits that fall in between male and female. Many have a gential protrusion that is hard to differentiate between a penis or a vagina, and in fact is considered neither. Many of the primary and secondary sex characteristic can be switched up--someone may develop a chest that is wider than males and a beard, or may have hormones that do not correspond to external sex qualities.

Now onto gender. Gender is a construct that we build in our minds. It is often highly-connect to sex, but not always. Gender develops from our idea of "male" and "female," but just because they are ideas does not make them any more or real. Gender has a profound influence on the way one behaves, and also seems to have some neurological components. Although gender is a "construct," this does not mean it is dismissed on a whim. If I were male, for example, I would not suddenly say I am female, or if I did I would be joking. I might even wish I were a female, but that would not change my gender. Judith Butler describes the way that gender plays a central role in one's life but is also a social construct as "gender performance." This "performance" does not refer to drag shows, which are a parody of gender roles. Instead, it refers to how people act within self-conceptualized framework of being a particular gender.

An easy way to distinguish between sex and gender is this example: supposing you say a man walking down the street with no obvious secondary or primary sex characteristics--how do you know this person is male? You don't check his pants. Instead, you can see gender--the man presents himself as a man. This happens even for men who do not conform to most stereotypes--it is still apparent. They way one dresses, wears one's hair, talks, behaves, uses pronouns---all of these are gender traits.

People can know they are males or females without having to look at their gentalia. If their gentalia were removed, at least at first, one's self-identification of gender would not change. A female would still be a female, and a male still a male. This is because gender is a central component of one's identity. However, some people have a self-identity that does not match the sex characteristics they were born with. These persons are "transgender." For all important intents and purposes, this person's identity is their gender, not their sex. They are not "pretending" to be male or female or "wishing" they are male or female--instead, they are male or female, despite the fact that their gentalia might jut out or in. However, though this makes a big difference in whether or not one can use a urinal with dignity, it really doesn't make a difference for this person's identity. Transgender persons, except in such cases like the urinal, need to be treated as their gender-identification. This identification usually stays as consistent as a non-transgender person--it is not a "phase" or a "sissy-man" or a "manly-siss;" they are for all intents and purposes their gender. While many do not wish to identify as transgender, many wish to have that option to express themselves as male transgender or female transgender.

Like sex, or perhaps more so, gender is complex and cannot be established on a binary. Even a continuum model fails to include the complexity of gender. This complexity is similar to sexual orientation which, despite the myth, is not a clear set of distinctions. Most homosexual persons have at least some degree, however slight, in the other gender, and likewise heterosexual persons often have an amount of attraction to the same gender. Additionally, not only is there enormous complexity within the categories of sex and gender, but also in all the ways sex and gender interacted. Despite the complexity of these distinctions, it is very easy to put up the basics that would make everyone much more comfortable (I think facebook might have gone overkill a bit, but I respect the move away from binary). Here are some easy options:
-Male
-Female
-Agender (no gender)
-Genderfluid/ambiguous gender
-Bigender
-Crossdresser
-Genderqueer
-Transgender male
-Transgender female
-Other
-Prefer not to answer

These options would be a great step in making people who are not able to belong most anywhere to belong on this website. Even if you personally do not like persons who are not male or female, please do not let your personal distaste prevent these persons from being themselves. This would be a very, very easy update. One can even narrow down the options further if they are too long, but I do not think one or two extra will cause any significant difference in one's ability to put up these changes or one's ability to enjoy the site. There are only advantages to be gained by this extra courtesy and hospitality. Thank you.

I'd object to that not for the suspected "personal distaste" reasons, more just because it seems like a big list for a piece of information that is really not very relevant to anything anyway.
It just seems to over-complicate what is in essence a pretty simple question; socket or plug?

Why not just switch the question from "Gender" to "Sex", since that would appear to have less options?
Or leave it as is and give the options as male, female or other?
Or maybe the best of all, just delete the field altogether! What real purpose does it serve to know each other's sex?