How default settings can destroy diversity
A reflection about how Google Forms’ auto-fill can make my survey respondents feel ostracized.
Not long ago, I started my summer research project and participant recruitment. As usual, after confirming the research direction and questions, I used a screener survey to help me find qualified participants.
I’ve designed several surveys during my graduate study both in Taiwan and the States. Coming from a Liberal Arts and Humanities background with several LGBTQ siblings and friends, it has become a natural reflex for me to think through gender identity options in my surveys.
However, not long after I distributed my survey in different facebook groups, I got feedback from a senior student in my school who kindly pointed out that I only used “Other” and “Prefer not to say” in addition to binary gender options. My first reaction was to immediately modify my options and thank her for reminding me. But I was left befuddled all afternoon thinking “How could that even happen?! Did I actually type those options?” Holding faith to myself and being curious about the cause of this subject, I started a new Google Form and suddenly realized how a feeble-minded researcher (Hopefully this article will not ruin my research career path… hopefully.) like me can be easily influenced by an auto-fill design.
The screenshot above shows what Google form suggests you use when you type in “gender” in the question blank. So, what’s wrong with these suggestions? There are no options for gender non-conforming people. “Other” may seem disrespectful and ostracizing to those who are non-binary. Yes, how everyone interprets the word “other” may differ, I totally agree; but didn’t all the stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination start from differentiating “us” and “them”?
Being included in a survey option may sound trivial, but it’s the first step to break the boundary of “us” vs “them”. Growing up as a Taiwanese, it’s always frustrating when I can’t find “Taiwan” in the “nation” blank in those personal information forms from governmental or private business websites. Sometimes I also have to select the only option (People’s Republic of China — Taiwan region). Although politics is complicated and this is probably not the best example, my “identity” is Taiwanese and I consider myself a Taiwanese. How would I feel if I have to choose “other” and type in “Taiwan” every time whenever there’s a document I have to fill out? I would probably become rebellious and choose “other” but type in “why bother?” and walk away. (Yup that’s typical me.) Same as our gender identity.
To say Google’s default auto-fill will destroy diversity might be hyperbolic, but what we all know is that our environment and everything we interact with on daily basis, including media representation, language, culture, etc. are framing how we think and what we think of ourselves and the world. Shouldn’t all of us keep in mind that who we are is not always the “majority” nor the “norm”?
