How to respond: been asked what sex I was assigned at birth

[Needapadlockonmyfridge]

I recently signed up to have blood tests privately (vitamin levels etc).

On the health questionnaire, one of the questions asked what sex I was assigned at birth.

Scientific company should surely do better than this. Not sure it is worth flagging up with them. I suppose, at least they didn't ask gender, but still.... Disappointing.

Actually, a significant proportion of that population does give their gender, when asked for their sex. Even crazier, when someone transitions, they get a new health record. A health record with their new gender, so they never get reminders for prostate exams etc. Health outcomes are statistically worse for that population.

You are irritated by the wording. That wording could save people’s lives. Irritation vs someone’s life. Go with the greater good there.

And ‘assigned‘ has an interesting linguistic etymology. It’s widely used scientifically, in the context of genetics, along with ‘associated’.

However, for decades when it comes to sex, it was historically used in clinical settings for those born with the genitalia of one sex but the genetic code of the other, as well as the one picked for intersex babies at birth.

Those are relatively rare cases but it sets a precedent and that is how these things happen. No conspiracy, just chance and routine.

There is a medical rationale. You may be presenting as a different gender to the one assigned at birth, so say they meet you, read you visually as a man, and you say you're a man, but actually you were born a female. They would need to know this to know how to read the results.

No, it is a radio button, you can only choose one or the other.

Absolutely they need to know my sex.

But it most definitely wasn't assigned at birth!

But it is a nonsensical question.

My sex was not assigned at birth. As scientists you would think they might know that.

These poor companies are damned whatever they put. If they put sex then trans people would put the wrong one. I think they are just putting what they need to in the hopes they get accurate data.

For all of those who think sex is “assigned at birth” (and I’m shocked by how many there seem to be) I think you will find sex is actually ‘determined at conception’. Really don’t understand why you think it’s easier to use inaccurate language!

edited to add In the very unlikely (but possible) situation where the question is addressed to someone with DSD who was assigned the wrong sex at birth - well, that’s not even the question you actually need them to answer!

No you're mistaking it.

Sex observed at birth means that someone looked at you and observed that you were male or female because you were already either male or female and they saw which one, in accordance with the dimorphism of our species. It means you are either of a class that produces large or small gametes. One or the other. That is what male or female means.

Sex assigned at birth means that someone "gave you" a sex arbitrarily that you might not agree with later down the line. It removes biological classification used in science and reduces sex to "what someone felt you might be on a whim". This is not what male or female means.

You think "assigned" saves lives. Sex observed at birth saves more lives when you're talking about all the women and girls who die in childbirth, die from domestic violence, die from FGM complications, die from obtaining illegal abortions and getting septicaemia. When we talk about sex observed at birth we centre women and their experiences over men and their feelings. This is uncomfortable for some women because women are socially conditioned to centre men in everything and they are currently shouting the loudest about this whole thing. It is uncomfortable for some men because men are socially conditioned to expect to push women out of the way so men can occupy space and men are conditioned to be entitled to anything a woman has, including her body.

These are social problems, not science problems.

And intersex people have asked over and over again for the TRA lobby to stop dragging them into the debate when their existence doesn't prove or disprove anything to do with gender ideology. Perhaps if you're falling over yourself to respect people you could respect those asking you to. It's really not a big ask to call a woman a woman and a man a man instead of intentionally obfuscating things with flawed rhetoric.

There are plenty of resources you could read via Google if you genuinely wanted to understand this (your first post did ask what you were missing but you sound oddly defensive when people have replied to this... 🤔).

Nothing is assigned at birth, except maybe sometimes a name. This is just so ridiculous. Your sex is determined at conception.

This. With great big shiny bells on!

There is no such thing as intersex. Babies are born either male or female, some have a chromosomal difference which can affect their development, but they still remain male and female.

I despair. I really do. Someone who claims to work in medical comms of all things is defending this utter nonsense. 🤦🏼‍♀️

I understand that HCPs are between a bit of a rock and a hard place in trying to make sure service users don't lie on forms and end up with medical consequences a HCP could be sued for.

What they could do is design a form that doesn't force non believers down an ideological dead end. It's like filling in a form that asks the Q How religious are you? Then giving no option to say not all.

There are a lot of pronouns around in med comms these days. It makes me cringe

Even crazier, when someone transitions, they get a new health record. A health record with their new gender, so they never get reminders for prostate exams etc. Health outcomes are statistically worse for that population.

Yeah, there's a simple solution for that that you don't appear to have considered.

The true offensiveness of these questions for women is that what we were actually assigned at birth is a gender. "Oh its a baby girl (XX chromosomes and a vulva) lets give her a pink blanky and a dolly." That is what was assigned.
Sex is determined at the moment of conception and I knew what my childs was at 15 weeks after conception from amniocentesis.

Nope. They are going to be more in a hard place when another pregnant trans man turns up and ticks "male" all over the place then dies in childbirth.

Sex is observed at birth. Gender is a bollocks social construct that should have been stamped out by second wave feminism.

OP if you can give feedback. Lots of it. Ask them what "sex assigned at birth" means. That you don't know and you need to ask the midwife who delivered you ;)

⬆️ is in my ‘top 3 posts’ I’ve ever read in my 10 odd years on Mumsnet.

👏 👏 👏

Caveat emptor, if you are too idiotic to correctly sex yourself to medical professionals, its Darwinism at work, natural selection.

I wonder why they even need to ask the question. They've got your blood. And they can ask other questions to tease out whether you have a dsd or have been taking cross-sex hormones or having cosmetic surgery.

What about asking 'what is your genetic sex?'
Would that be the right question?
I honestly don't know anymore. It's bonkers

Oh bloody hell. In all the hundreds (probably thousands) of newborn baby checks I've done over the years, I have never assigned a sex. I have observed and recorded it. On a couple of occasions, I have urgently arranged bloods and scans to establish it. Assigned? What do you think we do? Toss a coin?

You sex is determined at conception. You don’t suddenly develop ovaries, uterus or a penis and testes during a c-section or on your way through your mum’s cervix.

Well, I have emailed them.

Will be interested to see their response!

'Im sorry, the form I received fromyou refers to 'sex assigned at birth', which is a thoroughly unscientific statement and at odds with human biology. It has caused me to lose faith in you as a healthcare provider, and for this reason I would like a full refund.