Suggestion that census could ask “do you menstruate?” instead of asking sex.

Hell, they'd get better results if they ask 'to the best of your knowledge, do you have a penis' or 'to the best of your knowledge, do you have a uterus'

Menstruation is such a weird thing to pick - so hit and miss even for women.

I do feel that if they're just trying to avoid the sex question, then they'll get much more accurate figures for male/female if they ask if someone ejaculates than if they menstruate.

I mean, if we really have to go down this ridiculous route because some people want to be women, when they aren't and some people want to do things that only women can do whilst refusing to admit their are women, surely you want to question in the least-worst manner.

95% of women would just easily tick the box that says female, in answer to 'what sex are you?'

More than 95%, I'd have thought?

There are very, very few medical issues where 'do you menstruate' is an appropriate question, and it certainly has no role on a broad data collection exercise such as a census.

Is there no end to this nonsense - I'm getting very weary with it all.

I'm 67 and no longer menstruate but I am a woman - 95% of women would just easily tick the box that says female, in answer to 'what sex are you?'

Why oh why are we being marginalised when we're the majority!

Yes 🤦‍♀️

For sure. It’s only really comprehensible to a very niche minority.

And who authorised hall a million pounds of taxpayers’ money to be spent on this bollox?

ESRC.

I don’t understand how you can be “treated as a man at work” - or “perceived as a man”. How would you prove this?

Agree - it’s absolutely bollox.

Thanks for the Telegraph link — that ‘Future of legal gender’ project is even more insane than I thought.

the researchers said: “In some contexts, more precise questions may help to avoid distortions or inaccuracies, for example, ‘do you menstruate?’ or ‘are you perceived or treated as a man at work?’ rather than, or in addition to, ‘are you male or female?’.”

I’ve been treated like a man, with respect, when someone presumed my signature (initial and surname only) must be male. But treated as a woman when male colleagues contradicted something I’d written that happened to be correct, or talked over me at a meeting.

What gender should I put?

And who authorised hall a million pounds of taxpayers’ money to be spent on this bollox?

this recognises that people other than women also become pregnant”.

Is this a clumsy way of trying to appeal to transmen? If they can become pregnant they are women.

I dare say there are a significant number of women who either have learning difficulties or have English as a second language who may not even understand the question.
This is such a stupid idea.

I think there will be so many women/people/whatever in the same boat. Its a stupid idea.

I have not read the full thread so forgive me if someone else has mentioned this already, but apart from the “Do you mentstruate?” suggestion is this appalling proposal:

Where law mentions gendered physical processes, the researchers suggested it could say “gestational or birth parent rather than mother or woman – this recognises that people other than women also become pregnant”.

No one other than a woman can become pregnant.

This really is an attempt to erase the very idea of what a woman is. It is like Russian State propaganda at work.

I had a contraceptive implant, didn't have a period in two years. Did I not exist during that time or was I male? If I was male, then I didn't need the implant so why didn't my doctor remove it I wonder.

interestingly of all the females I know who don’t menstruate, because of age or medical condition or pregnancy, none have produced sperm. It’s like there is an important biological difference between males (or ejaculators) and females.

Seconded.

Sounds a really stupid question to ask. Unless they are planning free sanitary wear for all and want to know how much they need.

I worked with two ladies who did not menstruate. One with PCOS and the other as an effect of severe eating disorder. I am sure purely from a mental health stand point that bothe individuals who identified as women would be thrilled to know they lost the right to call themselves this on top of what they were already going through. Ridiculous. As someone with severe endo who has just had to have her periods temporarily stopped for her own health can't say I am particularly impressed with this as a choice either....

It just reflects what a mess authorities are in at the moment. One one hand they are convinced that only relatively few people need or want to change their 'sex', yet on the other, they are planning what to do in the event that so many people will register as the opposite sex or as neither, making the data collection meaningless.

In one breath they are saying sex is complicated and not relevant in the majority of situations, yet need to know quiet specific personal biology on census forms. There's lots of reasons why someone may or may not have a period, but the question on it's own won't show that.

Unless the authorities do want a list of women who could become pregnant.😮

I agree.

So now forms are mostly online with defined dropdown choices where there are limited possibilities (for sex M or F; in some contexts can add 'prefer not to say' or maybe 'intersex' ) they should stop using 'gender' as its now not just a euphemism for sex but can be interpreted as whatever you want.
A medical form which currently asks for 'gender' with the choices male or female, which then discloses an additional question about the possibility of being pregnant clearly ought to be using 'sex'.

Are people really paid to think up this bollocks?

Over half a million quid of public money. It's not all their report says but I challenge you to find anything remotely useful in it, after 4 years in production.

Sounds like bullshit to me.

I'm 55 and I think just about through the menopause (thankfully). I haven't "menstruated" for around a year now. I am 100% still a woman.

My mother is in her eighties and long past the age of menstruation. She is also still a woman.

Are people really paid to think up this bollocks?

I always thought that forms were gradually replacing the word sex with the word gender to stop silly people writing 'yes please' next to it. Fastforward a few decades and here we are with this new dawn of idiocy.

Full report on which the article is based for anyone who wants to read it:

www.kcl.ac.uk/law/research/future-of-legal-gender-abolishing-legal-sex-status-full-report.pdf