Filling out forms drives me crazy, especially when they are online and thus limit one's responses. On one that I was recently supposed to do, I could hardly answer anything. Here are some examples of the problems I had:
1. "Marital Status" The choices were single, married, or widowed. Since there was no "consecrated celibate" I had to choose "I decline to answer." Now normally I would give in to "single" but this was an explicitly Catholic institution I was dealing with, so I had no mercy.
2. "Gender" The choices were male and female, which are responses to the query "sex," not gender. Had the responses been masculine or feminine, I might have chosen one, but again, for lack of appropriate responses, I had to choose "I decline to answer."
3. "Religious preference" A list of religions was provided. I suppose I am supposed to supply the response "Catholic." But I'm not a Catholic because I prefer it to some other religion. I prefer Dr. Pepper to Coca-Cola. I am a Catholic because God has called me to be one. I might have preferred some other religion, whatever such a statement might mean, but that's not the point. Again, I might have let this one slide, had I not been dealing with a Catholic institution that should know better.
2 comments:
"I am a Catholic because God has called me to be one. I might have preferred some other religion, whatever such a statement might mean, but that's not the point."
Amen. Thank you.
A few weeks ago I ended up in a conversation with a Catholic in my husband's family, who remarked that it was wonderful that I never converted "for" any of his family, but after all this time I chose to do it "for" myself. Yikes. I had nothing to say.
Too funny, though you're not alone. I have a trans-gender sibling who also doesn't know which box to check off for gender. I once had a brother; I now have a sister. Merge the two and I now have a broister.
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