Sex is a slowly changing dimension

[LeaP]

Sometimes you find gender in the most unlikely of places. In this case database modeling.

I spent a good part of yesterday discussing the re-factoring of an existing database into a fully abstracted model. We were discussing the paradigm we would use to model the differences between changes, corrections, and time series, as well as combinations of them. To illustrate a point, one of the analysts chose a set of reference data elements to discuss, focusing on those that change infrequently. (These are called slowly changing dimensions, hence the thread title.) As she was going down the list of data elements, she went right by sex. Then she paused – looked off into space for a minute – and then said "I suppose sex can change too, though."

Kind of hard to sit there and not say anything ...

On the other hand, dinner with the boss tonight. And what comes out? He relates a racy description of a woman in a recent meeting. Specifically referring to her ample endowments. "She was outstanding," he said. Said another at the table, "is that a euphemism for…" "Tits," he confirmed. Mind you, this is the same boss that stood up against a group of peers expressing anti-gay sentiments in a prior company. And I'm sitting there thinking to myself "what on earth am I in for?" – knowing, of course, that this is simply the way life is.

And people have to ask why we think "WTF am I doing" to ourselves on occasion???

[Kimberly Kael]

And people have to ask why we think "WTF am I doing" to ourselves on occasion???

I'd be worried if we didn't! Both of the topics you raise represent interesting challenges. Representing sex and/or gender in a database isn't just a matter of change over time, it can also require different values for different purposes. For some aspects of my healthcare my assigned sex is meaningful. At one time for international travel the sex on my passport differed from my driver's license, which was sufficient for domestic travel. All of these needed to be handled as exceptions by my employer.

As for the challenges of human nature in the workplace? That's not one we're likely to solve. It's simply not healthy to require employees to suppress what makes them human, so it comes down to preventing it from being an issue in the workplace. Discussing attraction outside the office wouldn't be a problem if it wasn't around co-workers. So when your friends are co-workers, do you lose that freedom? How can the answer possibly be "only if it becomes a problem?" And yet that seems to be where the rabbit hole leads. People are complicated.

[LeaP]

Great remarks, Kimberly. Your comments on the multivariate aspect of sex leaves me a little chagrined. I'm the one usually pushing the limits of abstraction. I'm also constantly pushing the idea that data is meaningless outside its context and usage, so getting caught short on not recognizing that in this case is interesting – all the more so given my personal circumstances …

All of this points up the fact that gender is not a simple attribute. In technical terms, it's conceptually closer to a complex class structure. Is an object defined by its attributes or it's behavior? The answer is neither. An object is an instance of its class (or type) simply by virtue of being an instance. I.e., it simply is what it is. And, interestingly enough, the concept is actually termed identity.

Your comments on human nature in the workplace are also right on the money.

[Rogina B]

In regards to your workmates...I sure hope you have written up "a long and complete version" of your reasoning[perhaps not the right word] behind your gender identity change that they will be expected to honor and support by honoring..I know that it isn't "your time yet" but I don't think your workmates will be satisfied with the "short version"..You don't exactly work at a mobile janitoring service.....

[steftoday]

Are you treating them as SCD1, SCD2, or SCD3?

;-)

[Kimberly Kael]

I'm also constantly pushing the idea that data is meaningless outside its context and usage, so getting caught short on not recognizing that in this case is interesting – all the more so given my personal circumstances .

Until you're knee-deep in the process it's easy to overlook all the little details. The most absurd example I've heard? A trans woman I used to work with who had to list her wife as male to get her health coverage! The systems wouldn't accept a married same-sex couple for tax reasons at the time, so...

[KellyJameson]

Going into and coming out of gender has made me aware of how prevalent sex really is. Before I was to caught up in the dysphoria to notice or care.