case-splat.rb

  compile = proc{|w| a, b = w[0..0], w[1..-1]; /^\s*#{ a }(?:#{ b })?\s*$/i}

  MalePatterns =
    %w( man male boy ).
      map(&compile)

  FemalePatterns =
    %w( woman female girl ).
      map(&compile)

  def normalize_gender!
    gender =
      case self.gender.to_s
        when *MalePatterns
          'm'
        when *FemalePatterns
          'f'
      end
    self.gender = gender
  end