School admission registration

[Catnuzzle]

Just gone to try and register our school preferences for DD2 for secondary school. There is a compulsory question asking for my gender, I cannot complete the registration process without selecting male or female, no other option or free text.
I've sent the following email to school admissions:
I'm trying to complete the online admission form for my daughter , there is a compulsory question in the registration process that I am unable to answer.
It asks for my gender. I don't have a gender. Gender is a social construct enforced by a patriarchal society to the detriment of women. I have a sex. I am female. Gender and sex are not the same thing.
Please could the form be amended to reflect biological fact or to include a 'not applicable' option.
Many thanks

I have feeling I will get a response telling me to tick the most appropriate answer.

I'm more surprised they don't have a third, free text option.

I wouldn't pick this as a hill to die on, TBH. Only the admin person dealing with the forms will read it and just think "FFS".

The more people point it out the more they will become aware of the obvious that sex and gender are not the same thing

Sex is how you are born

Gender is something you can "identify" as

Forms should have two questions
Sex at birth
Gender identity (with a none box)
Its literally that simple

I filled in a form requesting support from the students Union that included a compulsory gender question. It did allow free text so I just wrote "this should not be a compulsory question". I previously worked in an industry where sex disaggregated data were very important, so Indo understand the need but honestly 99% of the time - who cares? I feel like a. It doesn't matter so shouldn't be asked, b. If it is asked it should not be compulsory to answer because in the parlance of the day it could be 'triggering' or intrusive to ask, c. If it is asked there should be sex and gender because that might actually provide some insight (given the meaning of words has been changed, apparently).

Back to you OP, sorry, could you ask why it's is question on the form? What is the significance and what is done with the data?

I’m also susprised there’s not another option.
I’ve just gone through this process as well and have come across lots of ‘prefer not to say ‘ pull down menu options.
I don’t know if that’s something you would feel happier with.

I had this on my daughters paper form school registration, I crossed out gender and put sex. Obviously you can't do this online and it is frustrating they don't have a free text box.

I just had to choose 'gender' on an NHS form for DD's Covid vaccination. The NHS! Surely they should know what's what biology wise.

I have just crossed out “Gender” and written “Sex” on the consent forms for my children’s flu vaccines. If everyone pulls them up on it slowly the message will sink in.

I was pleased when filling in a recent Let Clothes Be Clothes form there were 2 questions - 1 for sex and 1 asking if you had a gender identity.

I think as the meaning of 'gender' has changed recently there is an argument to ask them to change it to sex because

• this is the recognised wording for the protected characteristic
• gender would imply that you have to subscribe to gender ideology in order to complete the form
• your child may not have a 'gender' (identity), you have to fill in the form as a parent or guardian, you wouldn't want to impose a 'gender' on your child and 'misgender' your child on the registration
• 'gender' is fluid, so I'm told

The last two are playing devils advocate but if you want to make a point I'd ask for changes or guidance in completing the form.

It is by making a nuisance of myself that I and many, many other women have seen change. Small acts of feminism in the name of our daughters 👍🏻

@GingerFoxes

I just had to choose 'gender' on an NHS form for DD's Covid vaccination. The NHS! Surely they should know what's what biology wise.

They should. But the NHS actually records gender, not sex, for its patients and staff. It will have forcibly assigned a gender ID to a large number of people who don't have one. Single sex wards are single gender ID.