A write-in would be difficult to search for, so that may not be the best idea? One might type in, for example "female to male" while another user could type "M2F," which is a lack of consistency. That's the only major problem I could think of with write in.
It would also be likely to difficult to code. I know some things about programming. To be entirely fair, I have not looked at similar code of the CMS used here, and even if I did, it's likely been modified heavily.
But, it's likely a trait where it's been coded for one selection in mind. "No gender" is likely NULL or 0, "female" would be 1, "male" could be 2, "transgender" could be 3, and so on.
Depending on how the data is stored, it may also be more difficult to transition this data field from one that expects a single selection to one that accepts multiple. This would also bring up the issue of converting the legacy data for the new format. While not impossible, even if accepted it would take more time to implement.
Given these constraints, one possible nearer term solution that would be likely to be far easier to code for, or in other words would mean it'd be more likely to implemented more quickly, would be to add a few more hardcoded options. For example, "trans M2F" which could be 5, and "trans F2M" which could be 6, and so on.
Another, potentially easier option might be to leave the current options as they are, but add an additional data field which could perhaps be a checkbox (select multiple if you want) or even write in. Perhaps this could include checkbox options such as "AFAB" or "AMAB."
Anyway, just wanted to come up with some possible solutions, including some potentially easier nearer term solutions which could mean faster implementation.
3 years
