What 'other' sex?

[JellySlice]

There are only two sexes: male and female. Please stop putting 'other' in your surveys. It's ridiculous.

Male/Female/Prefer not to say are perfectly adequate options.

Honestly, why do you care? Choose what applies to you and move on.

Why should they stop it just because you don't like it?

I care because it's scientifically inaccurate. Human beings are mammals. All mammals are sexually dimorphic, i.e. they have two sex classes, female and male. Humans are no exception.

All the evidence suggests the general public and (worryingly) the government are deeply confused about what sex means and what gender means and the two words are being used interchangeably. We need to correct this and get back to a situation where fundamental words have a clear meaning that everybody knows.

It's not a matter of not liking it. It's a mistake. It's like asking respondents to state their religion and including White British, Black British etc to the list. It's muddling two different characteristics up.

Exactly. They are using the surveys to gather information. Do they want accurate information?

The information collected would show how many people think they are neither male nor female. I suppose that might be of interest?

'Prefer not to say' serves for that.

'Prefer not to say' serves for that.

No it doesn't. There is a difference from a statistical analysis perspective between

a) I am giving you no data.
and
b) I feel that your categories do not cover my situation.

And that in itself is statistically different.

Especially if that is the data set you're trying to capture for some reason.
It doesn't matter whether you believe in it or not, you don't know what the designer of the survey was trying to achieve.

Yawn

your categories do not cover my situation

This is not possible for the categories 'male' and 'female'.

If 'Other' is chosen, then the data set captured is unreliable.

And a yawn from me too

It matters because it legitimises the idea that sex is a matter of identity, which is it not.

I agree with the OP, for the reason they have given. If the surveys need to have "other" as an option, they should ask if the respondent identifies as a man or a woman.

Why restrict it to man or woman?

Hi there JellySlice. Thanks for your comments. We suspect, to be honest, that we have simply tried to include enough options to suit everyone.

The question doesn't state whether it refers to sex or gender so we've probably just cast the net wide there. In terms of data, it's not really important that we know how everyone would answer that question - we do include the 'prefer not to say' option so it doesn't seem to be a vital question.

It's probably the sort of information that might be useful to us if we had it in tailoring user experiences at some point in the future. So for example, we might decide not to show someone who said they were male our page on ovulation calculators, just because there might be content that's more relevant to them. But it's not a huge deal really. There's a similar question when you sign up to Mumsnet but again, there's a 'prefer not to say' option and you can actually just skip the question altogether.

That's a best guess really but we'll pass on your comments. Thanks again.

The question doesn't state whether it refers to sex or gender

Well the options “Male” and “female” suggest you’re asking about sex. There is no Male or female gender.

The question doesn't state whether it refers to sex or gender

So what's the point in asking it? The answers will be meaningless and impossible to interpret.

Well if we're being scientifically accurate intersex people do in fact exist.

Intersex people do indeed exist
And they are still male or female
Do you think intersex is a third type of sex?

I'm saying that "male or female, end of" is inaccurate. There are genotypes other than XX or XY, and a variety of non-standard phenotypes.

So for example, we might decide not to show someone who said they were male our page on ovulation calculators, just because there might be content that's more relevant to them Men can ovulate too you know.*

*no, I know they can't but this is what we're supposed to say now isn't it?

Right. But in reality people with intersex conditions still have male or female bodies.

The answer that you would choose is there, other people feel differently about their own identity and there is an option for them too.

Why does being inclusive, when it has absolutely no bearing on you at all, bother you so much? In this instance it really makes no odds to you, but could make someone else feel more comfortable and included.

There are genotypes other than XX or XY, and a variety of non-standard phenotypes

If you have a Y, you are male. If you have no Y, you are female. It doesn't matter how many Xs you have. (Though if you have no X, you are dead, as that is incompatible with life.)

It is possible to have XY and naturally have the external features of a female. Doesn't make that person an 'other'.