4 ms·

The gender breakdowns are of particular fascination.

• brisance 14y ago
  Yes. What does "Other" mean?
  • kmfrk 14y ago
    "Male/Female" genders are social constructs. Had they asked something along the lines of "Sex: Man/Woman?" or allowed for an LGBTQ (etc.) answer, the answers would have been more useful. Of course, it is often a good idea to ask a question, only if you are looking for a way to use the information. It's really sloppy for an MIT survey to half-ass a question like that. I'm sure I'm getting some terminology wrong, but this is the gist of it.
  • sp332 14y ago
    Other could be somewhere on the spectrum between male and female without quite feeling comfortable calling yourself either. (Transgender, maybe even pre-op or post-op gender change.) Or it could mean asexual.
    • geofft 14y ago
      "Asexual" isn't the term you're looking for -- asexuality has no more to do with what gender you identify as than heterosexuality, bisexuality, etc. do. The concepts might be related for some people, but they aren't inherently so.
      • sp332 14y ago
        OK, what's the term for someone of no gender?
        • geofft 14y ago
          I believe it is simply "agender". I've also heard the word "neutrois" for a third gender neither male nor female, but that's not quite the same as no gender.
          • Crake 14y ago
            You are correct. Agender or nongendered are both fine (with me, anyway, but I think generally too).