Gender field

Overview

The gender field module provides inclusive options for collecting gender information of individuals.

The goal of the gender field module project is to provide a thoughtful and sensitive way to collect gender data when needed. The project uses the list of genders developed by the Open Demographics project and aims to remain synced with that project as it changes.

Get Involved

This module is maintained by the Drupal Diversity & Inclusion Contribution Team. We welcome new contributors! Please jump into the issue queue, or join our channel #ddi-contrib-team on Drupal Slack.

If you enjoy and value Drupal and the Gender field module, get involved, consider joining the Drupal Association, and backing the Drupal Diversity & Inclusion groups's Open Collective.

When & How to Use this Module

This is not an area that we often have to give thought to, but it is also not complicated if we approach the user experience with empathy and consideration for the sensitive situations we may put our users in.

--Zoe Gagnon

Nikki Stevens' TEDxASU talk, "Other, Please Specify" gives a great overview of why demographic forms matter and how Open Demographics is working to improve them.

Do you need this module?

Before using this module on your site, consider whether you need to collect gender information at all.

Some questions to ask yourself

Do you need to address a person with pronouns? Genders do not necessarily map easily onto the pronouns a person uses. If you need to associate pronouns with a person, ask for those pronouns directly.
Do you need to address a person with a title or prefix (such as Mr./Ms./Mx.)? Genders also do not necessarily correspond to a person's preferred title, and moreover would leave out honorifics related to profession, such as Dr., Rev., or Capt. If you need to associate titles with a person, ask for those titles directly.
Do you need to collect gender information for demographic data reasons? If you do, make sure you are able to accurately record a person's gender, rather than forcing them into choosing from limited options. If you need to use the data for recording trends, writing reports, or segmentation for advertising or other reasons, consider post-processing the data to group related genders depending on your specific use-case.
Do you need to know a person's health needs, clothing preferences or bathroom use? If you are organizing an event, for instance, you might want to know what sort of facilities to provide or what sorts of t-shirts to order. Genders, however, do not necessarily correspond to specific body types, body functions, health requirements (such as menstrual supplies) or reflect what types of facilities a person would feel safest using in a public environment. If you are collecting gender data for this purpose, ask the more precise questions specifically.
Do you want to publicly display a person's gender on a profile? This is often a choice made by social media and dating/relationship sites. If you do this, consider making the field optional altogether. If you are providing user avatars, remember that human bodies come in all sorts, and allow individuals to choose an avatar separately from collecting this data.
Do you need to know assigned gender for legal, medical or regulatory reasons? Current gender does not necessarily correspond to assigned sex at birth or legal gender marker, so be sure you are clear in what you are requesting of a person. It's particularly critical to be transparent about your privacy policy and the how this data will be used.

The overarching goal should be to only collect the data you actually need and provide individuals justification for what you are asking.

A note on the use of "transgender"

"Transgender" and "trans*" are contested terms across nationalities, ethnicities, and generations. "Transgender" is often used as an umbrella term that refers to people whose gender identity, expression or behavior is different from those typically associated with their assigned sex at birth. Other identities considered to fall under this umbrella can include non-binary, gender fluid, gender non-conforming and genderqueer, as well as many more.

Transgender may or may not be a part of a person's identity in addition to their gender. The use of gender fields that provide the limited options "Male", "Female", "Transgender" is insufficient to reflect all individuals' identities, because some individuals will identify as more than one of these.

Additionally, providing options like trans man" or "trans woman" in opposition to "man" or "woman" is not an inclusive practice. Trans men are men, and deserve the opportunity to select man, and trans women are women, and deserve the opportunity to select woman.

While the gender field module is designed to expand the scope of gender identities being collected, be sure not to configure these fields in such a way as to force a person to choose "transgender" or another gender.

Configuring fields created with this module

Optional and required fields

The safest and most inclusive option for collecting gender data is to make the field optional.

There is always a possibility that even a thoughtfully-considered field will still not be able to capture a person's identity. If collecting this information is not critical to the functionality of your site, consider making the field(s) you create not required in order to submit the form.

If the field(s) you create are optional, ensure you've considered how to handle empty responses. If you choose to provide a default value when a person has not given a response (for instance, a default pronoun, or a default title) make this clear in the context of the form so a person is absolutely clear on the implications and consequences of omitting a response to your field.

Ensuring personal privacy when collecting gender data

Gender data should be considered sensitive, privileged user data. Be clear about how and when this information will be used, and who will have access to viewing it in particular if it will be publicly visible on your site on the form where you ask for this data.

For example, if you have separate fields for pronouns, titles and genders, you might specify that pronouns will be listed on a person's public profile and in the user interface (such as "...has updated her profile, titles will be used in emails addressed to the person and visible to site administrators, and gender will be anonymized and used in reports about whom is using your site.

Remember that the gender field is only a regular field in Drupal, stored in plain text in a database. If you have requirements such as HIPAA or are collecting particularly sensitive information such as assigned sex at birth, you may want to consider using a separate encrypted field, or storing the data in an encrypted CRM system.

Understand the risks that transgender and non-binary people face when cisgender people learn of their identity. Transgender individuals experience very high rates of violence and discrimination. Don't risk the safety and sanity of the people with whom you're engaging by not considering their privacy needs.

Resources

Roadmap

Our future plans include:

Adding support for a self-identification field.
Supporting other gender-related fields, such as pronouns, titles and avatars.
Eventually, expanding beyond gender fields to other demographic data.

Credits

Thanks to Jesse Beach for the original version of the module, and to the Open Demographics project for their work standardizing inclusive demographic questions.

Supporting organizations:

Drupal Diversity & Inclusion

Volunteering to maintain the module

Red Hat

Development and maintenance

Project information

Module categories: Access Control
29 sites report using this module
Created by jessebeach on 22 January 2013, updated 13 February 2024
Stable releases for this project are covered by the security advisory policy.
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