A simple question?
Author:
Taxonomy upgrade extras:
Spawned by this image, spotted on Twitpic: http://twitpic.com/xt2cu
Sex: Male or Female?
It sounds an easy question, but the UK's Identity and Passport Service evidently recognise some people may have problems with it.
They provide context-sensitive help for their online passport renewal form, and the help for the gender question reads thus:
You have clicked the help button for advice as to your gender. If you do not know your gender you cannot apply for a British Passport. If you need help to acertain your gender you should enlist the help of a family member or ask your GP to advise you. Post-operative transgender applicants must contact IPS for a full body inspection.
Apart from the fact they can't spell ascertain, that last sentence seems very strange - "must contact IPS for a full body inspection". Surely a written note on headed paper (or email from an appropriate .nhs.uk address) from your GP would suffice - unless anyone knows the reasoning behind this strange demand...