I also object to requiring respondents to identify as a particular gender, selected among only a fixed set of possibilities. People exist who don't identify as "male" nor "female" and certainly not "transgender" because they were born that way. And while society often forces me to identify as "male", I strongly dislike being identified as a particular gender, just as I dislike being identified as a particular race. Why do surveys ask that so much? At the very least, it could be non-mandatory....
For example, I am quite interested in discussing how my physical characteristics, and my genetic and social heritage, may influence how other people and I interact -- in detail, not as an offhand question that assumes people are willing and able to be categorized.
Actually, a general policy for surveys that I would find nice is, "don't answer any question that offends you". (possibly marking that explicitly, and hopefully giving a reason). I can see that it's nice to collect categorical data for statistical purposes, even if not everyone can be categorized, so recommending everyone to answer if it doesn't offend them seems like a reasonable compromise.
Or it could be worded "does society more often force you to be considered male, or female, or not..." or something equally horrible that most people would probably still give the same answer to.
All the best,
Isaac
