4 ms·

Gender is required and binary? Jeez.

by cllns 13y ago

thufry 13y ago
Why not? Notice that in "Country" they don't ask you if you've declared yourself the King of Sealand and are living on a platform in the ocean. For birthday they don't offer you anything less than 1900, even though there are people alive who are more than 113 years old. You simply can't serve all people's needs with any product.
csense 13y ago
> binary Does that mean you enter "0" if you're female and "1" if you're male?
- cllns 13y ago
  Am I being trolled? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_binary http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_binary
  - Zirro 13y ago
    I'll take the opportunity to break into this conversation and ask a question since discussions on this topic seem to be fairly rare on HN. If I were to launch a service where providing your gender was required (for the sake of this question), which options would you suggest I include outside the binary for those who feel uncomfortable identifying as such?
    - cllns 13y ago
      (NB: I fall within the gender binary. Ask someone who doesn't.) I can't imagine many scenarios when it is actually necessary. I just found a good article about how doing Male/Female/Other is problematic, called 'The Gender Ternary: Understanding Transmisogyny' [1] Diaspora solved this by making gender a text field [2]. Seems like the most inclusive. [1] https://radtransfem.wordpress.com/2011/12/12/genderternary-transmisogyny/ https://radtransfem.wordpress.com/2011/12/12/genderternary-t... [2] http://www.sarahmei.com/blog/2010/11/26/disalienation/ http://www.sarahmei.com/blog/2010/11/26/disalienation/
throwaway061213 13y ago
Maybe they don't want weirdos who claim to be something other than Male or Female using the service. Also, note I'm using a throwaway account to say this. If I dare to offend the gay lobby by suggesting that homosexuality is a choice [1], or that companies should be able to refuse to do business with queers, for example, even a normally respectful community like HN is going to react as if I said we need someone like Hitler to run this country. I'm even fearful that I might be refused employment [2] or otherwise discriminated against for my beliefs, if this comment is linked to my real-life identity. If someone's best response to an intelligent person who disagrees with their position is calling them names like "bigot" or "hatemonger," and applying sanctions to them, it suggests, to me at least, that the actual argument is weak, and those who adopt these tactics do so because they know their position can't win a debate on its merits. [1] If who you have sex with is not a choice under your deliberate, conscious control, why is rape a crime? [2] Even in jobs where my beliefs have no effect on my ability to perform the work. What I think about gay marriage should have nothing to do with my ability to write effective unit tests, but I doubt a Bay-area employer would hire me if they knew I made this comment -- and even if they did, they would receive pressure to fire me from customers, investors, or other organizations they work with.
- cllns 13y ago
  The tiny bit of actual content in this comment is absurd, illogical and harmful. The rest is defensiveness.

Gender is required and binary? Jeez.

by cllns 13y ago

Gender is required and binary? Jeez.

Why not? Notice that in "Country" they don't ask you if you've declared yourself the King of Sealand and are living on a platform in the ocean. For birthday they don't offer you anything less than 1900, even though there are people alive who are more than 113 years old. You simply can't serve all people's needs with any product.

csense 13y ago

> binary Does that mean you enter "0" if you're female and "1" if you're male?

cllns 13y ago
Am I being trolled? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_binary http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_binary
- Zirro 13y ago
  I'll take the opportunity to break into this conversation and ask a question since discussions on this topic seem to be fairly rare on HN. If I were to launch a service where providing your gender was required (for the sake of this question), which options would you suggest I include outside the binary for those who feel uncomfortable identifying as such?
  - cllns 13y ago
    (NB: I fall within the gender binary. Ask someone who doesn't.) I can't imagine many scenarios when it is actually necessary. I just found a good article about how doing Male/Female/Other is problematic, called 'The Gender Ternary: Understanding Transmisogyny' [1] Diaspora solved this by making gender a text field [2]. Seems like the most inclusive. [1] https://radtransfem.wordpress.com/2011/12/12/genderternary-transmisogyny/ https://radtransfem.wordpress.com/2011/12/12/genderternary-t... [2] http://www.sarahmei.com/blog/2010/11/26/disalienation/ http://www.sarahmei.com/blog/2010/11/26/disalienation/

throwaway061213 13y ago

Maybe they don't want weirdos who claim to be something other than Male or Female using the service. Also, note I'm using a throwaway account to say this. If I dare to offend the gay lobby by suggesting that homosexuality is a choice [1], or that companies should be able to refuse to do business with queers, for example, even a normally respectful community like HN is going to react as if I said we need someone like Hitler to run this country. I'm even fearful that I might be refused employment [2] or otherwise discriminated against for my beliefs, if this comment is linked to my real-life identity. If someone's best response to an intelligent person who disagrees with their position is calling them names like "bigot" or "hatemonger," and applying sanctions to them, it suggests, to me at least, that the actual argument is weak, and those who adopt these tactics do so because they know their position can't win a debate on its merits. [1] If who you have sex with is not a choice under your deliberate, conscious control, why is rape a crime? [2] Even in jobs where my beliefs have no effect on my ability to perform the work. What I think about gay marriage should have nothing to do with my ability to write effective unit tests, but I doubt a Bay-area employer would hire me if they knew I made this comment -- and even if they did, they would receive pressure to fire me from customers, investors, or other organizations they work with.

cllns 13y ago
The tiny bit of actual content in this comment is absurd, illogical and harmful. The rest is defensiveness.