[JustAPixie]

I would actually just like an opinion here... Would it be a good thing to know if members are male or female? Some usernames are asexual and it confuses me sometimes...

It also brings up the whole issue of privacy and being impartial, I know that, just wondering. Or is there somewhere where it shows already? It brings up a whole can of worms for me, would I be less sympathetic if the poster were male? Would I avoid certain members? I don't know... sometimes someone replies something to a post and it would make a difference if it was coming from a man or a woman... Sometimes I would take offence if it was a man, but not if it was a woman... Am I being too biased here?

[busylady1980]

I guess it just depends on the situation and topic being discussed. Not sure that is any more helpful. Sorry.

[Rhiannonsmoon]

Greetings JustAPixie

It is an opinion only but I do believe that your personal history is one of the things that would sway your decision one way or t'other whether you would be more or less inclined to respond in a particular way

Rhiannon for instance is hurt more by some male comments because it is in her history to expect pain of all kinds from males. However she has great respect for certain males on pc like The Byzantine and the NatureFreak as example

It is how you feel and how you see things; it is about where and whom your pain and hurt came from and what response you still carry toward that pain source be it emotional mental physcical sexual etc if it were a male then you will not feel inclined to want to support them too much because you still carry your pain from a male source

Have you exlored this possibility?

Morgana

[JayS]

A male or female option would be a good idea.

[eskielover]

I guess for one you can look in the male forum & the female forum if you want to know what gender a person is if they post in there....many of us don't.

I know that I for one have been embarrassed many times by assuming that a poster is either male or female & have been wrong.....also have been embarrassed in chat by having made that assumption. I don't have issues with either gender personally & have never had problems that have led to having issues.

My only problem is at times having assumed a genter & being wrong commented with the wrong "non-neutral" pronoun when talking to them. Don't know why, but I seem to guess wrong too many times when I don't know from their profile information.

[JustAPixie]

You are absolutely right Morgana, I think I might be less sensitive to male posters, but I also would feel uncomfortable being in a chatroom with only male members... although that would rarely happen, I think. I agree with eskielover that it is sometimes confusing in chat... the question is, is it confusing enough to cause a problem...?

I know the easiest way is to just ask people, but I am afraid that some moght take offence. By wanting to know wether someone is male or female I am not trying to say that there is something wrong with the males on pc... it's just a personal preference I guess. I know the men that come here are also hurting and have issues just like the women and should not be treated differently, I just generalize my feelings sometimes...

Thanks for your input, I appreciate it.

Pix

[pegasus]

Maybe you could put this question in the Community Feedback & Technical Support forum or even do a poll to see what the members think.

Personally I'm happy to support any human being here at PC but others may agree with your point of view. It would be interesting to know what everyone thinks on this.

[lonegael]

It think it is an issue that can cut both ways. On the one hand, for example, I have huge mother issues and issues with women that never would have healed if I have not been forces into situations where women had bothe helped me and needed my help. ditto with certain issues regarding men, though my problems with men had never been as general. Not knowing right away would have kept me in younger years from writing off a poster on the basis of gender without even having read the post. I would have had the chance to accept the mind and soul behind before I had to deal with the gender. I can se where this may not be the answer for everyone, though.
Tricky, tricky question.

[bebop]

you can always look at the profile page of the person you wish to find out I think.

[dil5077]

Often, I would like to know if a user were male or female as well. Context is a lot, to me. At the same time it makes me wonder "why?"..I think it is because in the real world, I'd know have those visual or auditory clues & I miss them in the online forums.

[carinacan]

well i guess it would be good to know....but some people with DID might have both in a way......so i guess it would be hard to ginalise...... so then how would we get in to all that?

[Princess_Obsidian]

Greetings,

Such a demographic is truly non-important to me when it comes to how I perceive my fellow members, here. After all, the illness/es we are afflicted with do not care what gender their victims are.

Nonetheless, I can understand your concern.

Have a good one.

[Sabrina]

Originally Posted by bebop

you can always look at the profile page of the person you wish to find out I think.

Unless the member mentions in the "About Me" section, there is no where on the profile page that indicates male or female.

[Ygrec23]

I think every PC member should be able to decide for themselves whether or not to make their gender public. Each member has their own reasons on disclosing gender. Let's not take away what is, essentially, a part of the right to privacy. Take care.

[lynn P.]

I think it should be a choice. For me personally I like to know whether a person's male or female for the reason that Eskie and dil5077 mentioned. I have been embarrassed in the 'sexuality and gender forum' with assuming the poster was female and telling her(who was a he) to get her hormone levels checked lol.

I have no problem with making it obvious I'm a woman and for some reason I feel puzzled if I can't figure out if the members a male/female - especially if I'm conversing in PM's. Not having clue if the person's male or female feels slightly odd for me lol. I've even been known to ask, which is kind of unconfortable. So yes I like to know.

I also wonder if anyone would pretend to be a woman when they're actually a man or the reverse. If someone wants to be ambiguous - what would be their motive? (meant to be a light hearted jab)

[Gus1234U]

i'm glad you brought this issue to the forums. i for one, don't care to be catagorized by my gender. if you can't tell, I Win. furthermore, there are many people who live outside of their biological gender. should they be forced to adapt or disclose when this society has been so brutal, even murderous towards them? and if you know your history, you will find that women were denied an Equal Rights Ammendment as recently as 1972, by a majority of states. so, it might be kinder not to put gender burdens on other chatters, and maybe try to be less embarrassed if you have your own social issues.