Saw a company's database storing gender in a boolean. I got so mad...at the very least, store gender in a float, 0 to 1. How dare they classify my gender as a boolean, forcing me into the binary societal patriarchal bullcrap?

We have a mapping table for genders. We currently have 4 records in it: Male, Female, Kids, Dogs. Don't ask. It was set like this before my time.

That just makes me wonder: Am I true or false?

@psudo lol. Guess it would make more sense if the name of the boolean was something like isMale

In my dirty mind it is quite obvious that 1=guys and 0=girls. It is picture perfect 😋👉👌

If (gender > 2) {
callBullshit();
}

I sexually identify as an undocumented legacy cobol code

@SpencerBeige how male must I be to qualify for isMale? I'm a lumberjack and I'm OK?

@gurumeditation index out of bounds ;) "To male"!

I agree with @gurumeditation. 1 and 0 probably correspond to the shape of genitalia. Your genital can't be somewhere in between, right?

@setyadi But they're storing gender, not genitalia. Subtle but still different sets of data.

@taylorshiv I don't understand. :/
Is gender how you feel instead of who you are or look like?
Then if I'm feeling like a superhero should I put "superhero" in my gender? :|

Maybe it's because I work in IT for a health insurance company, but boolean could be ok in some instances. For instance, there are certain doctor visits you will need if you have one set of genitalia, regardless of what you identify as.

@ScribeOfGoD First off, you have got to be the only person on devrant this aggresive. I love devrant because of grate community, then this bullcrap shows up. Second off, your argument makes no sense. I'm not allowed to defend religion or gun rights, because I made fun of this gender fluid bullcrap? That makes no sense. And, speaking of, literally no one was talking about either of those, and you have to start an argument because you got your sissy pants in a wad. Learn to take a joke.

@SpencerBeige I never said you weren't. I'm just showing the hypocrisy of most people with your argument. You don't agree with it so it must be bullshit. But oh lordy if someone takes your guns or God it's hell on earth. You have your opinion here and I have mine. If you don't like it then keep on walking we both have a right to post.

And btw, that fuck you, wasn't to you specifically.

@ScribeOfGoD never said you didn't have a right to post...you do...just saying, you're the first person on devrant I've encountered to be this aggressive to someone else. And, I don't know what you mean 'people with your argument' what argument? It was a satirical post. And, I don't necessarily think the whole thing is bullcrap, I just think it's ridiculous the way people are taking things. Defending their own gender as a gender, rather than just saying gay and straight.

@SpencerBeige

By 'your arguement' I mean someone who feels the need to tell other people what they should identify as. It has 0 effect whatsoever on you (not you specifically) so why should it matter? gay and straight isnt the same as gender. That's your sexual orientation, gender is what you identify as, not as in sexuality.

I'm sorry if I came off rough. I'm just tired of seeing this subject everywhere. The thing I like most about devrant is that it doesn't have the drama, it's about people who love code and developing. We don't need drama here or else it'd just ruin the entire experience.

@dewguzzler I'm guessing the entire problem could be solved by substituting "sex" for "gender"... and more efficient...

Or .... it's just a database?? Does the implementation work for the use case? Yes? Cool enjoy your day :).

See that was easy <3

@quiyote That would have a negative impact for data analysis... You would be grouping some people badly.

@ScribeOfGoD you're the one perpetuating needless drama

@ScribeOfGoD
I mean hey its just a theory

@WerewolfCustoms dafaq what gender is kid?

@rehman - In a chloting store - Small sizes, mostly gender neutral items. :)

So that means you can actually do if (!gender) and it'll be either male or female :D I'm almost offended

"Are you assuming my gender?"

@ScribeOfGoD When it comes to religion or guns there's no clear right answer(yet).
On the other hand it's pretty clear for a long time there are only 2 genders, and just because someone doesn't feel that way it doesn't change reality.

The difference between identifying as dragon and impersonating Napoleon in a mental home is very narrow.

And yet another person who doesn't understand what they're talking about. Sex is what you're born with, gender is what you identify as and if you don't belive me look it up as its been published.

@setyadi it's nice that you're at least asking rather than just saying I'm wrong. But you're right, your gender is what you IDENTIFY as, whereas your genitalia is just what you have. They can be different. Also it's worth noting that genitalia isn't necessarily binary either.

@deadlyRants has that been clear for a long time? I'm not saying you're not an expert in this stuff but the gender binary isn't a done deal. Google "two spirit" to get you started. There's a rich human history of there being more than two genders.

What the fuck guys you turned a bad db design into a tumblr discussion

@taylorshiv
Evolution of gender options:
a. I'm 1
b. I'm 0
and all was well.
Years later..
..
c. I'm 1, but I feel like 0
d. I'm 0, but I feel like 1
and.. it never stop..
e. I'm 1, feel like 0, like 1
f. I'm 1, feel like 0, like 0
..fast forward..
z. I'm 1, feel like 1, but my mom told me not to like anyone before I graduate high school :/
Isn't it easier for everyone if you, non-male-and-female, just grow up and accept that what we meant was the shape of genitalia?
We can't label it "Shape of Genitalia" because it would be too vulgar to post online.

@RazorSh4rk not really, the discussion was always about whether gender is a binary or not. If it is, then storing it as a bool is fine. If it isn't, then you need to store it as something else. My first question would be "do you really need to store this?"

@setyadi I agree with this. I won't ever mind the whole bi gender thing, but the "I identify as this, believe I am this, like these people" is bullcrap. It should just be "I'm a male and I like men or women", and visa versa for females.

@setyadi @SpencerBeige

Okay now I think we're starting to mix up sex, gender, and sexuality.

Let's just make a firm definition for each of them for the sake of argument. These may not be right, but they're decently close and give us something to work with.

Sex: Biological stuff. Hormones, chromosomes, and genitalia. (IMO sex should be divided into these subcategories to avoid confusion and give accurate information to services like insurance)
Gender: How one portrays theirself. The most controversial of the three. I'd say to just store pronouns in place of this.
Sexuality: What genders one is attracted to. (Homosexual, bisexual, heterosexual, etc.)

@var-username
Okay, do all of you non-male-or-female agree to 'sex' having a boolean value?
If you are, then case closed. We can just change 'gender' into 'sex'. Easier.

@setyadi Storing gender makes more sense in an analytics point of view. Choosing one or the other depends on the use case.

But if in their use case sex makes more sense, a boolean is still not enough. There are 4 possible values: male, female, hermaphrodite and asexual.

@andrebreda

Asexual is a form of attraction, not sex, but yes, I'd agree that a boolean isn't enough for medical documentation of sex. Without accounting for transgender people, you'd need to allow for male, female, and intersex (which is probably what you meant by hermaphrodite).

@var-username Intersex that's it, I didn't remember the name. When I wrote asexual I meant someone with no sexual characteristics, but now that I think about it it's probably impossible