what the heck does it matter whether I'm male or female
In terms of the loadsheet it certainly does. Weights are based on the numbers of males/females/children/infants travelling.
How other airlines get around this I'm not sure, and yes it does seem to be a rather pointless addition to the process as they (and others) got round it before...
I wish all the best for you guys at bmi, let's hope there's some proper management going on in the CEO's office today. I'm not holding my breath.