not in my opinion. the choices should have been male or female. the facetious/immature inclusion of "other" was unnecessary and regardless of the monday morning quarterbacking -- was included from a place of ignorance or cruelty (both unaceptable in 2010) -- in my opinion.
of the transgendered people that i have real-life familial and communal relationships with i am confident that they will know how to answer a poll that says male or female without looking for "other" or feeling that there should be an "other" option. for example, my male-to-female cousin would most likely check male for the census but because she has presented herself for 20 plus years as a female at work, home, in the public she would use the female restroom for societal ease.
let her figure it out. she doesn't need the unneccesary reminder of "other" (or "it") that she has internally struggled with most of her life.
how would the readers here feel if the poll was
healthy weight
obese
lazy fat disgusting slob
??????
healthy weight/obese = related terms. lazy fat disgusting slob = insult/slur/judgement
male/female = related terms. other = insult/slur/judgement
this is not about being p.c. it is about being a strong, nuturing and inclusive community and society.
i personally did not answer the poll because i think the answer was obvious and i am not interested in playing reindeer games.
all of the above information is based on my lifelong involvement in the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community and not on any college courses. now if you want to debate racial relationships in the jim crow south -- i am more than happy to chapter and verse you on those based on my two history degrees....