Sex vs Gender on forms

[ohshitohshit]

I've read a lot of posts on FWR, and as a woman, and mum to two girls, I find the whole concept of self ID deeply worrying.

Since reading the board, I keep noticing how many official forms now ask for 'Gender' rather than 'Sex'. In some cases I find this baffling! This post has been prompted by an organ donor form which asks your gender. The options are Male Female Transgender Other or prefer not to say.

AIBU to think that it's actually someone's biological sex that is the relevant question here?? As in - which bits and bobs might you be able to donate after your death - because men and women are biologically different!

Part of me wonders if it's a touch of British prudishness because everyone's glad they don't have to say 'sex' out loud anymore!

Of course biology is relevant! YANBU. If possible I write I do not have a gender my SEX is female. Though I appreciate that's not always an option . Would be interested to know what other posters do when there is no option to write a comment.

Last project I was on I ensured all my output had sex rather than gender on the customer output. My little fuck you to this bullshit. Made me feel better.

Asking me which gender I identify as, instead of my sex, renders the question pretty much meaningless. Which it is, except in a very few cases. So I usually say "other. I identify as myself"

I put a line through it and write sex. Every Single Time!

I have taken to crossing it out and writing Sex... I have also just sent back an online Q to an insurance company, telling them I cannot complete the Essential Information section as I do not have a Gender and referred them to the Equalities Act and it's actual wording!

I am getting a tad militant about it

I suppose on your organ donor form it isn't actually too important.
Once they get your body they will take whatever bits they can use. :)

It doesn't especially matter what sex/gender you put on the organ donation register - you don't donate organs without a thorough medical history which would certainly include any gender reassignment.

I think you're right though that many people see gender and sex as different words for the same thing and 'sex' seems a bit rude or perhaps may confuse.

Signed up for a marathon - they ask for gender! Surely sex is relevant here.
It's an on-line booking though so no place to make a comment about it.

I saw the story I have linked below at the time, but on googling this is the first link - and I chose it because it also muddles up the terms. Unless I missed that blood-transfusions are more successful based on an unquantifiable "essence", of course...

www.news-medical.net/news/20171018/Blood-transfusions-should-be-gender-matched-between-donor-and-recipient.aspx

BeyondSceptical That’s going to cause some confusion, if they follow the suggestions on gender matching blood donors, isn’t it! 😁 Of course they won’t know if the blood has come from a man or woman, if they insist on using gender, so there will be nothing gained.

Here's the actual study, doesn't mention "gender" once, vs 16 occurrences of "sex"...

jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2657377

The word "trans" appear 100+ times, though should probably take into consideration that so does the word "transfusion"

I thought gdpr meant organisations shouldn't be asking for data that's not necessary?

People generally think they are one and the same but there is also pandering to identity politics.
If able to I cross out gender and put sex: female.
If unable to I would tick other and really I should contact the form creator but never know how to go about it

I thoroughly infuriated my teen daughter this morning I had to fill in a medical form for her school trip and i crossed out 'gender' and wrote SEX. She was very eye-rolly in that way that only 15 year olds can be

In all seriousness though, SEX matters, not personality - which to me is all gender is.

Always cross out gender, replace with sex.

Agree, the more people do this the more they will realise people aren't happy with the genderwashing trend

I thought gdpr meant organisations shouldn't be asking for data that's not necessary? Not quite, and it would be hard to show that knowing the sex of participants... oh, wait!

So... that'll make any research interesting... Dear Researcher, how are you going to recruit, categorise and analyse your participants? Be careful how you answer that question, as it may be relied on in a court of law - and who cares about the havoc it will wreak?

I always cross out gender and replace with sex, if possible. Otherwise I leave blank.

Thanks everyone. This was an online form so could cross it out. I will bear in mind using 'Other' in future and hopefully will have a comment box to add ' Sex - Female'!

To the poster saying they will do a thorough medical check so it's not necessary to know sex, in that case, why are they asking for gender?? I can't see how it's more relevant than someone's sex and there's nothing I could spot in their privacy notice about data being used to analyse responses.

Sorry - that should say could NOT cross it out

Samphire, please could you give the wording of your email, so I can copy the reference to the equalities act? I'll be complaining about this from now on too.

So many forms ask for gender now.

Is there any justifiable circumstance where you might need to know gender rather than sex? I can’t think of one myself but interested to see if anyone can.

I was crossing out even before I was aware of the trans issue because It really annoys me especially when the NHS do it.

I always cross out "gender" and put "sex". It's fucking ridiculous though. Sex is relevant in so many circumstances especially medical. Gender rarely is.

Just a quick question - on DD2's starting school form, you are asked to put the gender of the person collecting them, and also the gender of parents with parental responsbility / people at the same address. Could this not be a safeguarding issue? Possibly over thinking.

I think that gender has long been used on forms instead of sex, because until recently (and still in most people’s minds), they are synonymous and the word “gender” is perhaps deemed a little more polite/posh. The word gender is now used (in some circles, and increasingly) to mean something completely different and this is why we are noticing it so much more. However, the vast majority of people, including those designing the forms, probably haven’t the foggiest about this change in use of the word.

I am therefore not convinced that the word gender is necessarily being used more on forms or that most people who use the word on forms are meaning anything other than sex.