Gender identity

[Enb76]

There is a fairly innocuous survey being asked my place of work asking for travel habits after the pandemic.

One of the questions is 'what gender do you identify with?' I don't identify as a gender, I reject the idea that I, personally, have one. Normally I would just put 'other' and go along my merry way as outing myself as a gender ideology sceptic at work is... potentially dangerous for my career but I'm so pissed off. There is no question about what sex you are at all.

Do I email back and say something? If I don't, if no-one does, then this stuff keeps happening and those writing this drivel think that the majority are ok with it. I'm not ok with it, I get less and less ok with it as time passes.

What would you do?

I would email saying you're confused about the question- you know what your sex is, but you're not sure of what's meant by "gender identity". Could they please provide a checklist so you can see what yours might be?

Depends, OP.

Only you can make the call of when and whether the risk outweighs the benefit.

I sometimes think it's good to do these things when we are less angry, tbh. So avoiding confrontation, keeping the temperature low.

Or it might be worthwhile bringing up other issues that really are sex specific - maternity, period pain, menopause, breastfeeding, and keeping those in the spotlight.

Or you may wish to go in all guns blazing and roaring and post them the Equality Act in its entirety with the word sex outlined in fluorescent yellow ...

Oh, Beowulfa's approach is a great idea!

I guess in would depend on how secure you are in your position. In my industry, there is none of this gender crap as it is still a mainly male environment and HR know nobody is interested.
I was asked the gender question last week in a medical setting; I simply and politely asked, was it important, would it effect the outcome of my procedure and if not, why was I being asked. You could try something like that if you think it won't cause a problem. Could you get any of your colleagues to ask the same question?

Yes email.
Remind them if they don't collect info on sex then how can they support women.
Remind them that having a gender identity is subjective - you don't have one, whereas biological sex is real.
Please speak out for women and girls.

You might email them this link, to a paper by Philosophy Professor Alex Byrne at MIT: What is gender identity?, quoting, "If there is some kind of “gender identity” that is universal in humans, ... No one has yet found a way of detecting its presence ..."

... And point out that until someone comes up with a way of detecting its presence, you intend to be sensible and have nothing at all to do with the idea.

-- You might also invite them to likewise behave in a sensible manner and desist from such nonsense.

My position on this has always been complete refusal to answer the question. Any questions relating to gender identity and sexuality get ignored.

Also, "identify with" usually means feeling empathy or similar towards someone. "I can identify with your experience/ your feelings, as that happened to me". What is it exactly are they asking? I do find it odd that 'identify as' and 'identify with' seem to have become interchangeable - fundamentally they have been different things.

Otherwise an 'n/a' or similar would do.

"Everyone has a sex but not everyone has a gender identity" I have found to be useful. They can't argue with it.

I’d ask for checklists for each gender and watch them scrabble around trying to avoid lists of regressive stereotypes.

I've just had a similar survey through from our bloody so called Women's Network.

I mean, what the fuck????

I think you should say that you are non binary, but no one is to talk to you about it as it’s a sensitive transition.

I don't think that a fatuous pretence that you don't know what the question mean will wash. Tell them you don't believe in gender identity so how should you answer? Alternatively, answer the question as if they had asked you what your gender is, as that's clear to anyone that's what it means.

What is the gender of someone who has never pondered the matter? Is it (eep) assumed to be their sex by any chance, DadJoke? Why?

It's like asking your religion, and assuming you're CofE unless you can prove otherwise (my primary school actually used to do this).

Alternatively, answer the question as if they had asked you what your gender is, as that's clear to anyone that's what it means.

No it's not, although I'd assume that they meant sex. They asked what gender she identified with, not what gender she IS.

It's a fatuous question.

What Hep said.

Our quarterly staff surveys have started doing this.

I email each time, with an increasingly detailed set of questions about how they can disaggregate data by sex (in view of the known inequalities in pay and seniority at our company) if they don't collect that information.

Not had a satisfactory answer yet, but were due another one so I must work up the next version of the email.

Following the Jo Phoenix judgement I would attach a copy of that and Maya’s EAT judgement. I would point out that GC and GI are both PCs under the EA2010 Religion and belief PC and ask why they are imposing the GI belief on everyone and not respecting the fact some employees are non-believers.

Then add @9toenails suggestion of how do you identify our gender? My sex is recorded on my birth certificate.

The more we use “GI belief” and ask how do identify my gender the better. It’s polite but makes it clear GI is a belief.

Have you seen the work Sex Matters have done on this? It might be helpful. https://sex-matters.org/posts/updates/data-matters-actions/

GI is not a protected belief. Its not been tested in court. Gender reassignment is a protected characteristic.

It says "identify with" not "as". I think I'd reply saying that I really identify with "tetrisgender" as it really does feel that life throws a lot of weirdly shaped blocks at me which I have to juggle in real time to avoid being overwhelmed. Then I would write a poem reflecting on how it feels to be overwhelmed, and send them that as well.

@MagnoliaTaint I agree GI has not been tested but GC has been tested and found to be a protected belief. So GC is a PC as part of the Religion and belief PC.

I am trying to be fair so whilst you could argue GI is not a protected belief I belief it is fair to treat GI and GC as protected beliefs.

Gender reassignment is a PC but it only protects the transition not GI beliefs.

It says "identify with" not "as". I think I'd reply saying that I really identify with "tetrisgender" as it really does feel that life throws a lot of weirdly shaped blocks at me which I have to juggle in real time to avoid being overwhelmed. Then I would write a poem reflecting on how it feels to be overwhelmed, and send them that as well.