{"id":1335,"date":"2010-02-05T15:23:16","date_gmt":"2010-02-05T22:23:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sarahdopp.com\/blog\/?p=1335"},"modified":"2010-02-06T11:58:28","modified_gmt":"2010-02-06T18:58:28","slug":"designing-a-better-drop-down-menu-for-gender","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sarahdopp.com\/blog\/2010\/designing-a-better-drop-down-menu-for-gender\/","title":{"rendered":"Designing a Better Drop-Down Menu for Gender"},"content":{"rendered":"
Heads up, this content is 16 years old. Please keep its age in mind while reading.<\/div>

A year ago, I wrote an open letter to Silicon Valley<\/a>, asking people to stop and think about how they’re handling gender (and race, for that matter) in their community websites.\u00a0 The short version is that if you’re requiring users to select their gender from a drop-down menu that has two options in it, you’re alienating some people. <\/strong>I didn’t offer alternative solutions at the time — it was just a request for everyone to think about it.<\/p>\n

(Note:<\/strong> if you’re not clear on why gender is a complicated issue in data collection, please stop right now and go read that other post<\/a> before continuing. This will make a lot more sense after you do so.)<\/em><\/p>\n

After grappling with this problem on a few other projects, and talking about it in a session last week at She’s Geeky<\/a> (I called it “My gender broke your drop-down menu…”), I’d like to now offer my suggested alternatives.<\/p>\n

Alternatives to asking for a user’s gender in a required two-option drop-down menu…<\/h2>\n

Option 1: Make it Optional<\/h3>\n

Baby steps.\u00a0 If the idea of getting fancy with your data collection method gives you nightmares, just remove the red asterisk.\u00a0 Stop making it required!<\/em> Most people will still answer the question, and those who don’t want to will select not to.\u00a0 Put a plan in place for how to treat and account for those who don’t want to declare their genders, and you’re done.\u00a0 It’s not the most celebratory or inclusive measure, but it is a very clean way to resolve a lot of problems.<\/p>\n

Option 2: Don’t Ask At All<\/h3>\n

Instead of asking for gender, ask for what you actually<\/em> want to know.<\/p>\n

Is it what honorific should precede the person’s name?\u00a0 Well, then gender’s not going to tell you if they’re a doctor or a reverend, is it? Give them a comprehensive list of options, and allow them to select none, if they wish. (And really, why do we use these again? \u00a0My preference is to drop them entirely.)<\/p>\n

Is it what marketing you think they’ll respond best to?\u00a0 Newsflash: not every woman likes baking, and not every man likes cars. \u00a0Ask them about their interests and market to them on that basis, instead.<\/p>\n

Is gender not actually relevant at all, except that you think it makes for an interesting statistic?\u00a0Meh. I’d like to convince you that you really shouldn’t touch it, but if I’m not going to win that argument, please see Option 1.<\/p>\n

Option 3: Have a Third Option<\/h3>\n

Your drop-down menus can have more than two options.\u00a0 Some people are trying three.<\/p>\n

I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about this, and here’s my current position:<\/p>\n