Gender specifications on your Mumsnet account: update

I'm not worrying, Ego. Feel free to say which part of my post you found was so wrong, and how it became OK once your name was taken off it.

Or don't. Nothing surprises me after I saw you force someone to change their nickname on here after you thought it was an insult to you.

Have a nice day and keep on ticking those boxes however you like

Well, that's a politician's apology. My spreadsheet is on fire.

Which "nasty and spiteful comments" bothered you today, Soup?

Is it that asking for self-proclaimed gender might not be useful for the purposes of advertising products like ovulation calendars?

Is it that 'sex' is a more useful indicator for those purposes?

Is it that trans people are likely to tick the box of their imagined sex rather than their real one? (Ego confirmed this with "trans people will still tick male or female irrespective of sex or gender. It's what we do " so not sure if you can object to it)

Ego got offended by "trans people like Ego" (although that is true, too - a fact Ego tells us all on a regular basis) so I asked MNHQ to delete that post last night. They should get around to it soon. I hope that soothes your feathers as well as Ego's.

I found a fairy tucked into a hole in a tree yesterday. Perhaps I should go back and ask her.

Wand care? Wing primping?

Cote, that was nasty.

I am happy with "Are you female/male/other?" because I am female - my sex is female. I think it's better than starting the choices "is your sex..."

Come to think of it I always go straight to Talk which would explain it.

Other useful tools? Packing list for an OFRS? What to do with an MN chicken?

"So don't be that person who makes non-mothers feel unwelcome.'

I was just pointing out that its called mumsnet, so I assume anyone joining would expect it to aimed at mums. not that non mums shouldn't join.

I suppose the 'other' box helps if you are a pixie or fairy or some other kind of 'otherkin'

Why are you making such nasty and spiteful comments, Cote?

Fwiw, I ticked male many years ago. I have never ever considered myself male. So much for meaningful statistics.

I've never noticed the ovulation calendar tbh.

Side note, but i thought the ovulation calendar was viewable by everyone? Isnt ttc why a large chunk of people come to the site - i figured that was why?

I certainly wasnt interested in it even when i was ttc, even though i am female, and im definitely not now!

I'm hardly offended by it, but it seems quite lazy to me if it is 'marketed' at me purely by me sex

Samcro

Men use Mumsnet. So do a lot of women who are not mothers. For many many reasons.

So don't be that person who makes non-mothers feel unwelcome.

Bloody hell, seriously...who gives a shit. This is a free site and this is a minor, teeny tiny non-issue in the scheme of things. I think MNHQ have been very obliging aver thus.

I'm not concerned how I am asked for my personal info, I'm more concerned how it is USED.

"The point of mumsnet data gathering isn't to get fully accurate statistics on its users"

It's not? [puzzled]

'That apparently wouldn't sit well with men.'

i doubt men care . they would most likely ignore it as they have joined a site called mumsnet

I think the mention of the ovulation calendar was a very telling exemplar. Almost raw biology. That apparently wouldn't sit well with men.

This thread is becoming as predictable and depressing as all the others.

Thank you, HQ, for the clarification. I have to ask how a drop down set to Female by default can be left unanswered. Presumably you left out the "decline to state" option, which doesn't fall under "other".

I would suggest that for the vast majority of users, there won't be any hesitation over the answering of that question. Hand wringing over how one particular person answers is none of our business, provided that that person is happy with her response. It won't make a statistical difference.

It feels a bit like hammering on about someone's grammar when they're asking an emotional question. We frown on that.

"ie not to show you an ovulation calendar at the side of the thread you're on if you're male"

Well, good luck with that.

You will get trans people who are utterly convinced of their femaleness ticking the 'female' box. Fat lot of good the ovulation calendar will do then.

You should ask for SEX and not GENDER if you want meaningful answers.