Survey question - how do you identify

[TheOrigRights]

I've just completed a post event survey.

One of the questions was "how do I identify as" - male, female, prefer not to say, can't remember if there were other options.
No comment field.

I was not given the option to say I AM female.

I had a similar question in a survey. I was able to give feedback to the questioner and told them it would be better if they had a tick box for people who are as well as those who identify, if they must. I was thanked for my input but don't know whether it made any difference.

This absolutely grinds my gears. I recently completed a survey about a proposed cycle lane and they asked me the same (irrelevant) survey. I used the additional comments box to tell them what I thought of their question but not every survey has that option - in previous surveys where that’s been the case I’ve emailed the survey organisers separately.

• same (irrelevant) question

These days I tend to answer all of those questions with "prefer not to answer".

I'm so tired of the endless surveys we're asked to fill in. We got reminded about one particular staff survey around 30 times in total, it's made me MUCH less likely to fill it in next time round. It didn't help that we then got a rollocking for the low percentage of people having completed it - the issuing department described it as "mandated" when it really isn't - last time I looked we still had a modicum of free will.

And do the results make any difference to organizational behaviors? No, they don't. Decisions have already been made way above most people's pay grades, depending on the agenda of the day. I can't help feeling these questions just allow the issuing department/organization as a whole to tick a box somewhere.

I did actually want to complete the survey as I did have some feedback.
I think it's probably useful for them to know the sex. It was a running event so toilets are provided.

I did consider ticking 'prefer not to answer' and actually this is the case for the question posed - how do I identify.
But I also wanted them to know I was a women giving feedback.

If someone answers ‘prefer not to say’ wouldn’t it just mean that they don’t wish to acknowledge their biological sex with any of the other options? In other words, the survey would record them as ‘non-binary’ ?

Probably.
"prefer not to answer" would be better, but again who knows what they'd classify you as then.
I have not had a reply from the organisers yet. I bet I just get a generic "thank you for your feedback, we are always looking for ways to improve".

I won't let it drop though.

In future, for all pen and ink surveys/ questionnaires I shall simply circle the question and write 'this is gender ideology b/s'.

I am so sick of this shit.

I just had to fill in an online form for a national athletics organisation today.
One question was "sex at birth" and another was "gender identity".
I answered female and prefer not to say.
I did see someone (non-binary) on their facebook page claiming they had just joined but were immediately quitting because they objected to the "sex at birth" question.
It turned out that they had joined several sports associations and made the same complaint to all of them.

I work with a lot of international survey data, and I've seen some surprisingly sensible wording coming out of the USA, of all places. There's still a lot of nonsense, but I'm increasingly frequently seeing the question worded as something like "Which of the following best describes you? (check all that apply): man, woman, transgender, nonbinary, other, prefer not to say" or "Would/Do you consider yourself ...?" with the list of choices. And occasionally even "Are you ...? female, male, other." I don't know how most of this helps the survey sponsors, as they'll get a mix of data on sex, gender, gender reassignment status, gender identity, and gender presentation, but at least everyone can probably answer the question.

On the other hand, on many surveys the "identify" stuff has crept into every classification question - race, religion, citizenship, Hispanic Y/N - I even saw this one recently:

Do you identify as:
Employed (full time)
Employed (part time)
Freelance
Retired
Unemployed
Student

If I "identify as Employed (full time)", will direct deposits suddenly appear in my bank balance?

These questionnaires are on all the job applications at the moment. Funny thing is they all seem to have different options. One had an option of two spirits!??

I thought it was illegal to ask this sort of questions for jobs!

I've just completed a form after visiting the flipping Caravan and Campervan show in Birmingham and it asked me which gender I most identified with.

There was a "prefer not to disclose" option plus a block for free text following that. So I let my feelings be known.

a block for free text following that. So I let my feelings be known.
That's what I normally do even if the free text is several pages later. I try to shoehorn it in somewhere!

It's a nonsensical question for a person who doesn't 'identify' so I would leave it blank. If I had time I would make it known to the organisation that the form needs amending to include another option 'this question is nonsensical to me'.

I did email them, no reply yet

I can't remember if the Q was mandatory, but there was no option to add comments, for this Q or elsewhere in the survey.

I had this question ( how do you identify) and other had a free text box so I put gender critical biological female

That'll headscratch em

gender critical biological female

Perfect response - I’m using that from now on

I've just responded to another bloody survey where I could not say I was a woman, only that I identify as one.
This one was from Women's Running magazine.
I have emailed them my thoughts.

FFS.

Bloody hell @TheOrigRights 😲 good for you though for letting them know that they are being utterly ridiculous - this nonsense has to stop.

We had a work survey where you couldn’t get past the first page unless you completed the ‘how do you identify’ gender question. When I queried the lack of biological reality options it I was told the employee LGBTQ+ group had had input and this is what they wanted. It was a Stonewall champion company, so 🙄

If there is ever a free text box in questionnaires I will make my opinions known.

Even better, a sewing magazine making patterns and all wording 'inclusionary'
Ie supposed to be for any body. But bodies are male or female. Found it so irritating I don't buy it anymore.

Most people don't IDENTIFY as anything!

They just ARE male or female.

I finally have a response to my email from 17th April, which I have chased 3 times.

They says "Thanks for getting in touch. For our surveys, we use industry-approved and widely recognised language to be as inclusive as possible. It is not our intention to offend any of our audience, and we believe this to be the most acceptable and inclusive way to ask this question. I apologise if your understanding is different, but I'd like to reassure you that the results of this survey are purely to improve the communications we send to you and to ensure we create running content that supports as much of our audience as possible."

I wouldn't know where to start to find this industry-approved language. Is there a formal body who approves survey questions?

Am I right to be offended that I can only identify as a woman, I cannot state that I am a woman?

Why not challenge your anger to something genuinely important like child poverty or the dying planet.