Get ready for the new questions
Today I was making a doctor’s appointment, and the person I was speaking to on the phone said she needed to update my records and ask me a few questions. I could decline to answer if I so chose.
The first one you can probably predict: how do I identify, female or…I very quickly answered “female” before she got to the rest of the choices, and by my tone she could tell I was annoyed. After all, they’ve been seeing me for well over a decade, and I have never filled out any form with anything other than “female.” I could have declined all the questions, but my calculation was that doing so could be interpreted by some number-cruncher as meaning I had no sex. So I answered them all.
Next came, “Have you always identified as female?” My answer was, “I have always been female.” And next came, “Were you assigned female at birth?” My answer was, “I was born a female.” At that point the woman (she was a woman) asking the questions apologized to me for asking them, and I said I know it’s not her fault.
So, prepare yourself to be asked this sort of thing in various venues from now on.
Do you think it’s better to decline to answer? Or is it best to answer the way I did? Or what?
I’d plead the Fifth Amendment.
This hasn’t happened to me, personally or as in your case professionally but as said before when or if it does its not going to end well I think.
At some point normies got to start saying “No.”
The only way to win is to not play.
I think you did right, Neo. Answer the questions in normal speech that does not validate the nonsense way the questions are phrased.
Yes, I went to the doctor a couple weeks ago and I had to answer a bunch of questions online prior to the appointment and of course sex and gender were two separate questions and you had to answer or it wouldn’t let you advance.
I agree with John above. We don’t have to play their unreal games, so refuse to answer.
Neo –
I received my first covid vaccine shot back in the Spring of 2021 at the local regional medical center in Orange County, New York.
Prior to receiving the shot, I had to fill out some paperwork. One of the questions I had to answer was “What is your gender?” There were twelve choices. I checked the box for “male”. There was also a choice for “female” (my wife checked that one). Among the other ten choices was “A gender as yet to be determined”!
There seem to be some undetermined types running around the Biden Administration.
I think that this line of questions is now required by Medicare in their annual checkup questionnaire and the last time I went for an annual physical the paperwork asked what your sex was at birth and then what your sex is now, and you can’t get in to see the doctor until you answer all of their questions.
Since you can apparently “identify” as what you happen to feel like at that moment, I say tell them that today you feel like a pineapple, or perhaps a tomato or an armadillo.
One interesting thing when I went to the doctor was they never once asked me if I was vaccinated only if I was feeling unwell in the last week.
Where does this come from specifically? The AMA perhaps?
The one I’ve been prepared for, but hasn’t happened yet, is the doctor’s office asking if I have any firearms in my home. Because, you know, those things can discharge all by themselves which can be very bad for your health.
I like the quiet forcefulness of “I have ALWAYS been female” and “I was BORN female”
That said … I was listening to a podcast yesterday which quoted the number 2 person in the Biden Admin health team (forget the name) as saying we need to support young kids if they want to transition their gender. Quite young kids. Apparently that includes avoiding notification of parents. Which suggests to me that being firm and assertive may not be enough in the end.
They politicize everything.
They will not allow people to avoid participating.
Being on the last train to the Gulag still means being on the train to the Gulag.
Or what.
https://notthebee.com/article/66-year-old-man-who-has-donated-blood-for-more-than-50-years-is-barred-from-donating-because-he-refuses-to-answer-whether-or-not-hes-pregnant
I’d say that they are not entitled to that information – it is strictly between me and my God.
So, if someone is in the doctor’s office, and that is asked, may that one say “Let me check.” And then slide a hand inside the pants? Or just grab the crotch? Or ask the questioner to have a consultation look-see?
Just asking for a friend.
For the record, part of my past includes time being a junior high boy. Rude and crude is part of the territory.
I strongly urge people not to answer these questions.
Answering validates and normalizes these practices. The databases being built of these answers are being used for the purposes of racial, sexual and gender discrimination. Like all racists, sexists, et the people engaging in the discrimination either sincerely believe that the discrimination will improve society or right past wrongs, or they are opportunists looking for a way to predate on their fellow men without fearing retribution.
The modern totalitarian state is very data driven, and, I can not stress this strongly enough, even innocuous bits of data about you can be pieced together to push you around. Just as the Nazis used the answer to the seemingly harmless question about one’s religion in the censuses of the 1920’s to draw up their killing lists, the present day authorities are clearly preparing to decide who prospers and who withers based on a myriad of things like who you liked on facebook, and what books you bought on Amazon, etc.
While declining to answer puts a big red target on you, it also serves to blind the regime a little. The fewer people cooperate when asked inappropriate, insane and wasteful questions, the less effective the data mining becomes.
And once you get in the habit of keeping silent and refusing to answer, it becomes much easier to exercise that right in stressful situations, when being interrogated by people in authority or in socially dangerous situations.
Once they get you to start cooperating, the pressure to keep cooperating will only increase. The easiest way to proceed is to refuse to cooperate from the get go.
Be polite, be friendly, and tell them that you won’t answer their questions under any circumstances.
I was asked recently “How do you identify?” I replied that I identify as a Mountain Goat. No further questions were asked. Have some fun with this. We don’t need to play their silly game.
I recently received a questionnaire from the Veterans Administration where I do receive care for my hearing and they give me great hearing aids and batteries. I started to fill out the info because it indicated I could be part of a study to receive more care but the questionnaire was so detailed with crazy questions about genders, family history and I skimmed through the rest of the multi pages of questions and through the damn thing in the trash. So far here in Texas I have had some great medical care and no stupid questions but who knows what comes next. When my primary doc asks me about guns it is because he is a gun guy, we both shoot a lot and do some competition shooting. The first time I saw him in 2013 we were discussing diet and he asked me what I had eaten the night before and I told him pheasant and showed him pictures of the pheasant I had brought back from a trip to Oklahoma. I like the way Texans treat each other, at least in my town.
Sensible arguments, Tarran.
Quite a few people who have lived under totalitarian regimes emphasize that a big part of the control is forcing you to agree with nonsense propaganda or at the least seethe in silence.
“Pronouns” are also being used as a way to normalize alternate genders. I’ve personally decided to go all troglodyte. Although mild and tolerant by nature I’m practicing the bon mot “Some say there are 15 genders, but I say there are 2 genders and 13 forms of mental illness.”
By violating the civil “window of acceptable behavior”, I will enrage some, embarrass others but hopefully give a little defensible space to a few (“Well, I’m not THAT abrasive but he’s not completely wrong.”)
Wish me luck.
In the context of medical treatment, which requires trust, I find questions about race, sex and assorted identity have become surreal, political, judgmental and stupid. It feels like they are depersonalizing and dehumanizing me.
The whole thing is re-traumatizing, if one has ever had the experience of being a crime victim. I can’t see that anyone cares about crime victims lately either.
So, it makes me feel afraid. I think it’s reasonable to fear giving control to people who may not like you, may not care about you and may also be incompetent.
Of course, it’s also funny, as misery can be, but making wisecracks has pitfalls too.
I would ask “Why do you need to know this information above and beyond what you have in my records already?” and then not answer any further questions.
I have seen these or similar “extra” questions on online pre-visit forms, which I also refuse to answer (other than the basic check-a-box “__M __F”). At least, at those clinics they don’t force the staff to ask the questions out loud.
My new PC provider is a decorated Afghanistan vet. Her husband is a retired Marine pilot. I have a physical scheduled with her in September. I’m actually looking forward to it. 🙂
Oh, BTW, my biopsy was negative. On with my life.
I think my primary care doc knows better than to ask those questions. He and I have agreed to disagree on a lot of stuff. I assume he is a Democrat because of his obsession with Covid. My wife is partly deaf and asked if she could take her mask off so she could hear him better. He was horrified at the thought and told her he has a 9 year old at home. Poor kid.
She doesn’t hear through her mask but was hoping he would take his down. He also wears a plexiglass shield over his mask.
I got a form. I scribbled out the woke s**t and write in the correct question with my answers
Yes, the new questions are annoying. The medical personnel I’ve encountered who have to ask them have been apologetic.
The gender questions are stupid. But so are the questions about guns in your home and whether you are feeling blue (suicidal) these days. If I was planning to commit suicide, would I tell my doctor?
The Medicare bureaucracy keeps dreaming up new things to have the docs ask. So, you get even less time on actually treating the problem. Is it an evil plot? Probably. How do we stop it? Refuse medical care? Give nonsensical answers? Refuse to answer them? I don’t know. Maybe the best answer is to vote in a lot of conservatives.
I miss the good old days when the doctor was looking at you rather than the computer screen. And when he knew you because, as a small businessman, his patients were all important to him.
Mike K:
My primary care doctor wouldn’t be asking them, either. Not his style at all. But he’s part of a large practice and it’s the appointment desk at the practice asking them, probably because they are required to do so by the big hospital group to which they belong.
physicsguy:
Congrats on the biopsy.
Good news, physicsguy!
Answer each and every question with “Fuck off”. And insist they put that down as the answer.
😛
Tell them those are your pronouns, too:
“‘Fuck off’, and ‘Go fuck yourself’ are my pronouns”.
Followed by “I expect them to be used at all times”
Even better is if you go with
“‘I’m a fucking idiot'” and ‘Am I a moron or what?’ are my pronouns. I expect them to be used at all times.”
😀
. 😀
😀
I’d really love to hear someone say that all the time. I would be grinning from ear to ear.
Here’s one for the neo community. My best friend sent her daughter to a YMCA summer camp. It is for kids under the age of 14. When the daughter gets to the camp, they ask all of the kids their pronouns.
This is in Omaha, Nebraska and the YMCA is supposed to be Christian. My friend was incensed.
The Left never rests.
“The one I’ve been prepared for, but hasn’t happened yet, is the doctor’s office asking if I have any firearms in my home.”
Several commentors have mentioned this. Our Neighbor about a month or so ago went for her physical with a new Doc (old one retired) same practice though. She was asked about firearms (her husband has a “few”) and she wasn’t going to answer it. The Doc said no answer then no physical and walked out. She called us and ask me what I might do (I am not owning up to having any) and just said LIE, Lie, Lie. Its none of the Govt business.
Q: “As what sex do you identify?”
A: “I’m sorry, Under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 that information is confidential and restricted.”
When I moved to NV 16 years ago I needed what we used to call a “family doctor.” I was corrected when I asked around: they were now a “primary care physician — PCP.”
I found one by looking in the phone book and asking around. The first one I found was very good — always late, but that’s because he spent a lot of time with his patients. I was very happy with him.
Then Obamacare came in, and the next time I went to see him he wheeled in a computer, opened it up, and proceeded to ask me a lot of questions that had nothing to do with the reason for my visit: when was the last time I fell, do I have throw rugs in my house and grab bars in the bathroom. That kind of thing. And our visits were exactly 15 minutes long. He was so intensely glued to his computer he didn’t even look at me.
I called his chief nurse later that day and told her I found his devotion to that computer got in the way of his care and greatly diminished his helpfulness. She said she’d heard the same from other patients and she’d pass on the message without my name. She blamed it on Obamacare.
Within another year he had given up a practice he had managed or 20 years or more. He said he could no longer tolerate the government’s interference in his care, and he was going to move to a large care facility where there was no interference between him and the government.
The medical profession lost an asset when that happened, and I’m sure he was not the only person. This is one of the costs associated with Obamacare, and it is one we never hear discussed.
Now the government is upping the pressure: we have these infernal questions we have to answer about gender and how we identify. Why? They tell us it’s for inclusion — mustn’t offend anyone. I say bullsh!t — the people we’re offending are living in a fantasy world.
One of Trump’s assets was that he would offend people like that. The press called it “rough edges” when they were being polite, and accused him of racism and homophobia at other times. I would really prefer DeSantis to Trump, but if Trump is the nominee I will grit my teeth and vote for him, all the while remembering how the Democrats have destroyed something as basic as healthcare.
Old Chinese saying [c. 210 BC]: Point (at) deer is a horse.
https://youtu.be/s5r54SPmWYc
Gist: Who does not agree this deer is a horse gets the ax separating head from body.
If my doctor (office) asked me if I identified as male or female; I’d probably ask them what they think I am and I’ll decide to keep an appointment based on their answer.
The RN wife says the hospital has been asking the “identify” question for a few years out of courtesy. The paramedic son-in-law says they used to ask such questions a year ago, but they dropped it from their system. Of course, anecdotes are like opinions.
My husband refuses to answer the Medicare questions. I have answered, mostly because I feel sorry for the nurse trainee who has been tasked with asking them.
But maybe you guys have persuaded me to be a bit more aggressive if I get the “gender” questions. At least the Medicare cognitive questions have a purpose.
“The one I’ve been prepared for, but hasn’t happened yet, is the doctor’s office asking if I have any firearms in my home.”
I haven’t been asked the gender questions yet, but I have been asked that one. I always lie and answer “no”, since I assume that a refusal to answer would be interpreted as a “yes”.
Great news, physicsguy!
It’s just a matter of time before refusing to answer will result in decidedly unpleasant consequences. The enslaved do not have the right to resist. Compliance is mandatory.
“If ever a time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in Government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin.” Samuel Adams
Adams wasn’t talking about verbal and written protests.
“when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government” passage in the Declaration of Independence asserting the justifications for exercising the people’s* Right of Rebellion
*1/3 of the colonists actively supported rebellion
Rebellion is a bloody affair, one not wished to occur by the prudent but rather justified when forced upon the oppressed
Someone I know was a Federal bureaucrat, and their office sent out a rather detailed form that recipients were supposed to fill out.
One day they received one of their forms back, and some enterprising citizen–obviously not a man to be trifled with–had used a “bullshit” stamp and covered the entire form with this message, over and over again.
Perhaps we all ought to invest in a few specialized stamps ourselves.
Eight years ago my (then) two-year-old was asked by his pediatrician if he was a boy or a girl?
“i’m a crayon!” he said.
The nurse tried, saying to me, “we have to ask this now”, and asked my son again, if he was a boy or a girl.
“I’m a rocket!” he said.
The nurse asked, boy rocket or girl rocket? And my son said “boy rocket”. They were all laughing, but I wasn’t…
Neo:
Since you are not a biologist you should have said you don’t know.
Just by answering these incredibly stupid questions, an individual is conceding , in a sort of round-about way, that the questions have validity, are serious questions about a serious subject.
This is how language changes, or more precisely the meaning of words and language.
Of course, as this goes on, it leads to changes in thinking, which is the ultimate goal of the leftist totalitarians who are ramming this shit down the throats of an unwilling populace.
Meanwhile our elected representatives say and do nothing about this crap.
John Tyler:
But if you don’t answer, you can be lumped in with those who don’t identify as either sex.
Work for the feds. They wanted everyone vaccinated. Having thought it might be useful, got two shots early. Would not do the same now, but who knew.
The feds demanded everyone give them copies of private medical records. I refused. Showed a copy to my supervisor. There is no reason to give feds my personal medical info. If feds asked the state for my record, it would violate HIPPO. So I am officially “non-vacced”.
Irony. Because I am “not vacced”, every week, must get a test. Paid fed time. Because they require the test, they must pay. Anyone in the agency who refused to go along, same thing. Further irony, I was proactive, got shots before they were “required” so they didn’t pay for my time to get the shots.
Ah, the wonders of working in a bureaucracy. The danger: It mistakes process for product.
“We asked the questions. We get paid no matter how stupid they are.”
This development is terribly disturbing, but not surprising. And it will become absurd and dangerous. If I claim to identify as female even though I am male, does this then affect how the doctor addresses my complaints? The therapy (e.g., medications, surgery) to prescribe? Is the doctor required to independently determine my true biological gender? Could the doctor’s independent determination violate the law? Is the doctor protected from liability if (he? she?) prescribes a therapy appropriate only for the gender I am not? I could go on and on. Who in their right mind would want to be a physician?
I think you did the right thing by answering, and in the way that you answered. I would probably shoot back with questions. ‘What is the purpose of these? (Why don’t you know?) What is the opportunity for my input? How is client feedback captured? What does the quality management system do with the input from clients?’ Being modern medicine, they will have a quality management system. Demand to be shown its access.
Lots of exasperation here! I would probably answer with ‘this is a perfectly ridiculous question and I object to its presence in this medical setting concerning my personal quest for health, that I have organized and am paying for. The question wastes my time and yours, and this series of questions is contributing to my exasperation with the sorry state of health care. These questions are offensive and damaging to my health.’
Congratulations, physicsguy!
Should have some impact on the mid-terms…
My current plan is to answer by counter-asking which answer my personal name would (should) suggest. I intend to take a similar approach to the trend I’ve been noticing at work: the thing about including pronouns in internal e-mail signatures. I worry that at some point, HR is going to require it of us. They’ve kept a light touch so far during this whole cascade of ideological things, so this may not happen for some time yet, but I’ve been waiting for that shoe to drop.
This is a sorry situation. I think on my primary care physician’s records, under Race, for me it says “None” or “Undetermined”, or something silly like that. Whatever.
JimNorCal (@ 5:16 pm):
“Quite a few people who have lived under totalitarian regimes emphasize that a big part of the control is forcing you to agree with nonsense propaganda or at the least seethe in silence.”
Jim’s observation has been fleshed out a number of times by Anthony Daniels [pen name “Theodore Dalrymple”], e.g.:
“I came to the conclusion when I traveled in what was then the Eastern Bloc that the ubiquitous propaganda was not intended to persuade, much less to inform, but to humiliate; for citizens (if that is the proper word for them under that system) had not merely to avoid contradicting it in public, but actually to agree with it in public. Therefore, from the point of view of the ruling power, the less true and more outrageously false the propaganda was, the better. For to force people to assent to propositions that are outrageously false, on pain of losing their livelihoods or worse, was to crush them morally and psychologically, and thus make them docile, easily manipulated, and complicit in their own enslavement.”
This comes across as somewhat creepy to me.
As I haven’t come across this yet for healthcare I would like to think I would ask “why on earth would you ask such a question?”
At work we have intranet work profiles that can be quite useful – it lets me look up anyone in the company to see where their office is (useful for knowing what time zone they work in), see their picture (it is nice to put a face to the name of the person you are working with); but, last year they asked everyone to add their pronouns. Ha! They don’t realize that some of us are judging just who the idiots are who went along with adding pronouns to their profile. Now I not only know what time zone they work in; but, also if they are a boot-licking idiot as well.
On one hand, I can see a legitimate rationale for ascertaining that ones patients might have biological conditions inconsistent with their claimed gender identification. In at least one case, the confusion was fatal, for the baby.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2019/05/16/pregnant-transgender-man-births-stillborn-baby-hospital-missed-labor-signs/3692201002/
Per the story: “He was rightly classified as a man” in the medical records and appears masculine, … But that classification threw us off from considering his actual medical needs.”
SHE knew she was pregnant when she went into the ER, having taken a test at home, and said so. The death of the baby was unfortunate, treatment being delayed while the doctors confirmed that “HE” was pregnant, and an obvious woman in the ER might (might) have gotten faster action.
But SHE is not a man; even if you “appear masculine,” there is still only one (natural) way that pregnancy occurs, and it doesn’t happen to men.
On the other hand, staying with the health-care focus, sometimes the government over-reachers get their hands slapped.
https://www.thecentersquare.com/illinois/first-settlement-reached-for-health-care-workers-in-lawsuit-filed-over-covid-19-vaccine-mandate/article_e3f481fc-0f69-11ed-b66a-7bfa6c871c9f.html
These are the people who were fired because their requests for religious exemptions were denied, and they declined to get the vaxx.
@ charles > “Now I not only know what time zone they work in; but, also if they are a boot-licking idiot as well.”
The other side of the coin is that, for not listing your own pronouns, you are now pegged as a fascist racist insurrectionist.
I’m actually waiting for these questions. Depending on how I feel that day, I’ll either laugh or say I identify as a M-1 Abrams tank named Bobby.
“Um, I really try NOT to think about it…”(?)
“Depends on which day of the week…”(?)
“Sorry, I only take multiple-choice exams…”(?)
“Damned if I know…”(?)
“Actually, it’s embarrassing but I…don’t…and that’s why I’m here…”(?)
Other…(?)
Like JFM, I’m waiting for these questions, too.
My pronouns are as follows:
Ma’am.
Yes, Ma’am!
Right away, Ma’am!
As for firearms in the house.
Do flamethrowers count?
Thanks, PaulN, for providing the quote.
I think Alexander Solzhenitsyn has one on the topic too.
RE; Paul Nachman’s comment above at 12:44, as Theodore Dalrymple observed this is exactly the point of the Left’s manipulation of language and reality i.e.
“I came to the conclusion when I traveled in what was then the Eastern Bloc that the ubiquitous propaganda was not intended to persuade, much less to inform, but to humiliate; for citizens (if that is the proper word for them under that system) had not merely to avoid contradicting it in public, but actually to agree with it in public. Therefore, from the point of view of the ruling power, the less true and more outrageously false the propaganda was, the better. For to force people to assent to propositions that are outrageously false, on pain of losing their livelihoods or worse, was to crush them morally and psychologically, and thus make them docile, easily manipulated, and complicit in their own enslavement.”
There is no swifter route to the corruption of thought than through the corruption of language
George Orwell
Find another doctor.
To the gender question, I think I might answer, “Maybe we’d better let the doctor examine me and make that determination, if he hasn’t already.” As for the gun question, an all-purpose answer to impertinent numerical questions is “None, unless it’s relevant,” and to others (per Miss Manners), “How soon do you need to know?” or “What an extraordinary question.” Next.
To questions about how much money one has or how one makes a living, I recommend “I have independent means.” To the question “What do you do?” my husband likes to say “In the event of what?”
Great news, PhysicsGuy.
I’ve been thinking, if pressed, my pronouns are:
Eat/Shit/Die
I suspect the comments section here skews older than the general population. If your company says share your pronouns, and you don’t comply or you get cute, you get fired. Same as if you argue back in the diversity workshop, because you are a lawsuit waiting to happen, since anyone of color who witnessed it can claim a hostile environment…
And if you’re young and single that might not be such a huge blow and you can take a brave stand. And of course if you’re retired you can talk about what a brave stand you’d make. But do spare a thought for those who have to support a household, as they have a tougher row to hoe. As Solzhenitsyn said, “A man’s family are his enemies”, because a threat to them makes you a lot less brave.
Frederick,
But of course .. if I actually did get “cute” with my pronouns I would likely get fired. And that is why some in my circle are retiring early, because, like
Olaf(upon what were once knees)
does almost ceaselessly repeat
“there is some shit I will not eat”
Fredrick:
Sucks to work where you do.
Pronouns? Beep, Bop, Boop. Class action lawsuits to follow. HR’s function is to provide legal cover for the company.
Wendy suggested”…and to others (per Miss Manners), “How soon do you need to know?” or “What an extraordinary question.” Next.”
I appreciate and accept her “Miss Manners” advice. I was thinking simply “Next!”. Wendy’s answer is so much more civilized.
And yes, it is great being retired and part of the KMA club. Work became so much more tolerable when I reached retirement age/time, with the unlocking of the golden handcuffs, and knew I could leave anytime without giving up anything.
Would I have had the same attitude earlier in my career? I’m not sure, but I did buck many things in my last 20 years.
Pronouns? Shame on HR for asking and not getting the answers they wanted. Maybe they should list acceptable answers? BTW, how often can one change their pronouns? Is every day too often?
AesopFan: “The other side of the coin is that, for not listing your own pronouns, you are now pegged as a fascist racist insurrectionist.”
Thanks for the laugh!
You are sort of right – except that I was most likely given that label before when we had to take a “diversity” course which included such tripe as “White Privilege” and I complained that it was wrong to judge anyone or any group by their legally protected class.
So, really, I was already given that fascist racist label.
Not including my pronouns will more likely make some think (because I am nearing retirement age) that I am nothing more than a technologically illiterate boomer who doesn’t know how to enter my pronouns into my profile. LOL!
I’ve never been asked my pronouns. Yet. I am retired, so no issue at work.
Perhaps, something unpronounceable? x%r, z^q, &w1
If I were a paranoid person, I would be hesitant to lie or make fun of these questions.
The government knows if you’ve legally bought a firearm in the last 25-30 years.
The government knows what sex you are.
If, at some point, this data could be used to profile who were the good citizens and who were the dissidents, you’ve made the job easier by comparing these answers to data they already have.
Of course, that would take a serious amount of computing storage and time– but one thing about the government, they have an unlimited budget for anything they decide is important enough.
And shouldn’t the choices include cismen and ciswoman?
I think it’s best to answer, but with push-back to show that I do not accept their presuppositions. For example, when I was asked, “How do you identify?” I might say “I don’t identify as anything, I’m male.” Or when I was asked “Were you assigned male at birth?” I might reply “I wasn’t assigned anything. I was a boy, and everyone recognized that.” The only down-side is that the person asking the questions, who is not responsible for them, is going to be made uncomfortable. But that might lead to their pushing back as well, at least a bit. And as John Adams said in 1776, “It’s a revolution, damn it! We have to offend somebody!”
“She was a woman”
I didn’t know you were a biologist too, neo! /
I got put out with the last round of questions at my annual physical (do you have a firearm? how much daily screen time?). I started to get snippy with the nurse and give absurd answers (eg “zero screen time, ever. I literally have not used a TV, computer or phone in years).
I checked that behavior pretty quick, and told the nurse I know it’s not HER fault, and that I’d take it up with the doctor. And I did.
His hands are tied, too. But, he obviously didn’t really care. Not his practice. He sold out and is just an employee. From this and other interactions, I can tell he is an old horse who sees the barn. He is just plodding to retirement and trying to keep his head down. And I think he is an EXCELLENT GP, graded on a curve against his peers.
If I get this gender nonsense at my next physical, I’m embracing my inner fluidity and the spirit of the times.
I will identify as a pterodactyl using they / them pronouns at the beginning. When getting close to the end of this new stupidity, I’m going to say, “wait. We need to start over. I’m now a “gray ace” broccoli floret, and…and…Xi’m feeling kinda xim / xer-ry now…you need to change that.”
Rinse, repeat however long it takes for the staff to say, “stop…please just stop.”
At which point I will say, “YES! EXACTLY! That’s MY point. Let. Us. Stop. This. Nonsense. That. YOU. Started.”