This caught my attention on the welcome week leader application. I applaud NYU for trying to assume a fluid understanding of gender, and it's definitely important to see this stuff in its context: most schools in this country, even other private left-ey ones like NYU, have not expanded upon the "Male/Female/Unspecified" standard. But while it seems this illustrates an atypical level of interest, on NYU's part, in what the student body actually wants and values, I don't know that this can be called totally satisfactory. Since when is "Transgender" a gender identity? I have yet to meet a transgendered person who would, when asked to specify his or her gender, select the category of "transgender" over that of the gender with which they identify. Transgender might be an identity, but is it really a gender identity?
As a bio-girl, I'd like to hear what someone who's actually transgendered thinks about it. I don't know if it's so implausible that in some huge amount of years, we won't even have gender questions like this
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