Could be...don't know. I didn't ask about gender, only about making an appointment for a renewal, which the lady at the regional post office said I needed to do, by calling the main post office in FTL. When I called the main post office, the operator said an appointment wasn't necessary, and that I needed only to bring the following, and then she listed what I needed including the line about checking the gender of your birth. That was it, I thanked her and hung up.
Maybe it's becoming an issue and operators are told to include that information....interesting