City goes even more woke: Replaces ‘female’ and ‘male’ on registration forms

Article content

Forget being female or male, as far as the City of Toronto concerned.

You will now be considered “cis female” and “cis male.”

A request was submitted to the city during a meeting for Toronto’s Parks, Forestry and Recreation Registration and Booking Transformation (RBT) Project.

The member, identified only as “Jad” on the video, spoke up about changes they felt needed to be made immediately.

“These changes do need to be made on an emergency basis,” they said in the clip first shared on social media by 6ixBuzzTV.

“I think that it’s unacceptable that we see these terms at this day and age, [and] that some things within organizational settings need to be fast-tracked,” they continued.

They mentioned other terms that need to be updated, including “other anatomical biological terms, female, male.”

They concluded: “So, in general, just wanted to mention and hope that this is moved as promptly as possible internally.”

Kathleen Harquail, manager of Business Transformation and Change Management, who was conducting the meeting, responds, “I can confirm that we can make this change immediately.”

In another clip, Harquail confirms that a request was received “from committee to change ‘female’ and ‘male’ to ‘cis female’ and ‘cis male.’”

She added that they also “received a recommendation from the community to change ‘female’ to ‘woman,’ as is currently recommended by the city’s gender equity office and ‘male’ to ‘man’ and those align with those options with the city’s recommended language.”

The RBT project centres on replacing its recreation program registration and facility booking software, according to a document shared with The Toronto Sun by the City of Toronto.

Those involved used gender data to determine what changes they believe needed to be made for those registering for programs or booking a facility with the city.

RECOMMENDED VIDEO

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

Try refreshing your browser, or
tap here to see other videos from our team.

Play Video

The defaults for the current system defaults to either female or male, but those on the committee noted some other options that could be displayed to residents include “gender non-conforming,” “intersex, “transgender” “FTM (female-to-male),” “MTF (male-to-female)” and “blank.”

The Two-Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Advisory Committee provided recommendations based on the limited options currently available in the system, as well as additional feedback should more options become available in the future, a City spokesperson told the Toronto Sun.

“Disclosing gender is optional when registering for City programs,” he noted.

He explained that “all pronouns were chosen after frequent and in-depth consultations with 2SLGBTQ+ communities,” with the intent “to ensure the City is meeting the needs of all Toronto residents, including equity-deserving communities.”

He added: “The City of Toronto strives to make its services accessible and inclusive to all Torontonians,” he added.

“To ensure accessibility and inclusion for the new Parks and Recreation registration and booking system, City staff have consulted with advisory committees to seek recommendations and will continue to do so.”