Female vs. Male

Rachel Lynn Himes

Is it required that a form clearly uses terms "male" or "female" for us to declare a deceased person as one or the other? Or is it all right to make assumptions based on other clues?

For example, is it ok to mark someone as "female" if all you have to go on is that they use the prefix Mrs.?

Or is it ok to mark someone as "male" if your only clue is that it says my "wife's" name is -- with the word "husband" marked through with "XXX" so you know the intent is that this IS a wife's name?

I know we are not supposed to given the names to make assumptions about sex. But the prefix and the fact that they had a "husband" or "wife" might give additional clues. If the names and those other clues point to a specific sex then should we select either male or female based on those clues in aggregate?

Would it be best to make our best interpretation based on all those things, or would it be best to mark <blank> because technically the document did not state "male" or "female"?

Thank you!

genthusiast

The Project Instructions should state how strictly they want the Indexer to index sexes if there is an entry field for it. If there is no explicit instruction - Yes, it's ok to make assumptions based on clues in the document and the timeframe of the document.

I've seen others post rules with dates relating to changes in laws for relations between sexes (2005 for U.S. for example) - after which timeframe one may need to be careful about indexing sex - but as they mention those documents probably will not be indexed for a while... perhaps excepting obituaries?

My opinion: If the document (from an older timeframe) has clues indicating marriage - I believe it is generally safe to assume that if husband/wife are implied or mentioned - it means male/female sex. For projects that want a strict interpretation of sex based upon explicit fields from the document - the Project Instructions should state that. In those cases where there is no explicit field listing of sex - the Indexer should mark the Sex field <BLANK> - unless there are sufficient clues. Defining sufficiency of clues may vary between indexers/reviewers.

Comment about typical 'sex entry field instructions' (with opinion): For older timeframe documents - even though the rule for indexing sex typically states '...don't use name(s) to identify/index sex...' - I believe names can assist in identifying sex. I just have to try to turn that intuition/interpretation off when indexing and follow the Project Instructions as best as I can. These types of Project Instructions just make the Reviewer role more critical for returning what the record custodians want. If the Indexer isn't following the 'rules' then the Reviewer can use the Indexing Labs and perhaps indicate that the Indexer needs some guidance on the Project Instructions. I understand that Indexing feedback is not as common as it used to be - seeing how there can be various interpretation by individual Indexers/Reviewers. Reviewer and Indexers do not need to be competing at-odds with each other over Project Instructions. If the Project Instructions are not clear then the Project Administrators should provide clarity to the Project Instructions. I have not seen any response from Project Administrators here in Community - usually I believe the messages are 'relayed' through moderators (that's what a moderator does - or part of their role).

So take my opinion with a 'grain of salt' and wait for a moderator to give more official guidance. General rule: I just 'do my best' Indexing - and let the Reviewers do their best Reviewing.

barbaragailsmith1

Look at the Field Help for the sex field in your batch. Most projects will say "Index the sex only if it was specifically recorded OR you can tell what it was from relationship terms, such as "son" or "daughter," titles or terms, or other evidence in the language," which means yes, you can infer the sex by Mr., Mrs., Husband, Wife, spinster, etc. I don't think I've ever seen a project that doesn't allow this, but if one specifically said not to use these terms to determine the sex, then you wouldn't. Using these terms would not be interpreting or assuming.

slotbuddy

I definitely agree with Barbara Gail and think this is the clearest and easiest interpretation to follow if you are not sure what to do.