Gender, identity and (dis)orientation

Today I filled in an application for a job at a uni in the UK. Come the equality of opportunity section, the applicant is prompted with 3 questions:

1) What's your gender? Female/Male

2) Is your gender identity the same as the gender you were assigned at birth? Yes/No

3) What's you sexual orientation? Straight, Gay, Bisexual etc

A number of non-mutually exclusive thoughts come to my mind:

- is this a hidden test to check the logic consistency in the applicant's answers!?

- Who assigns gender at birth? And gender identity?

- The implicit assumptions are:

-- gender orientation is discovered or revealed in life, one may scramble and unscramble it or, more simply, experience deep disorientation when filling such applications for jobs!

-- identity and orientation may not necessarily coincide and neither of them may coincide with gender

John, I'm Only Dancing ... Job, I'm only Applying ... lallallala!

Odi et amo: from Catullus to Lady Gaga

odi et amo. quare id faciam, fortasse requiris? is one of the masterworks by Catullus, a gem of synthesis and vibrant feelings. These words were written for (one of) his partners Lesbia. This is a nickname for a woman he was fond of, perhaps also for her liberal views on gender issues about 2000 years ago, hence the nick.

A fil rouge in my thoughts has been recently going from Catullus, through chats with friends, to:

- The 2011 oscar nominations over-representing the under-represented the gay community as never before the gay community, aka LGBT.

- Lady Gaga's latest single "Born this way" which offers light as well as heavier food for thought.

The range of audit that may benefit from such inputs spans from Lady Gaga's fans to busy policy-makers who campaign pro or against sensitive ethical issues full of enthusiasm but lacking critical thinking. The few exceptions I know of are Germaine Greer, Deirdre McCloskey , Kevin Hague and Nichi Vendola . However, the list is far from being exhaustive and I welcome contributions.

Equal Opportunities Monitoring...

"Is your gender identity different from your birth sex?"

Gender, identity and sex all in one question. Is it not enough to keep Biology and also Sociology departments busy researching and discussing for centuries!?

"Chillo È Nu Buono Guaglione" ... I can't stop singing it in my head ...