[Noisebridge-discuss] Gender & Technology followups from 5Mof

[Sai Emrys]

So as it turns out, the app I'm writing now needs to know how to
address people (e.g. "JRUser friended you. Friend ___ back?")

I don't however especially care how people identify per se.

What's a good prompt to use?

The obvious choices to me are ([defaults]):
a) Gender: [blank], female, male, neuter
b) Pronoun: [they/their/them], he/his/him, she/her/her, zie/zir/zir

The 'pronoun' prompt however feels weird to me and I think would
confuse people (at least make 'em double take), although the 'gender'
prompt is really only a question about pronoun.

My idea currently is to use the 'gender' prompt but add some help text
saying e.g.

"This is so we know what pronouns to use when referring to you:
* (blank): they, their, them
* female: she, her, her
* male: he, his, him
* neuter: zie, zir, zir"

I think the only objection you have, May, is that you don't want to
take this 'gender' prompt as *definitional* (i.e. saying Who You Are).
But AFAICT you're fine with it being *pragmatic* (i.e. saying What I
Should Call You). Which to me is a matter of presentation.

- Sai