Facebook introduces new gender options

MANILA, Philippines – Gender comes in all shapes and forms. This is the message of Facebook as the social networking giant updated its list of gender options for its users last Thursday, February 14.

Roughly 50 more gender identities were made available for Facebook users who wish to define themselves other than ‘male’ and ‘female’. Since the update, users can now choose from an expanded list of gender labels that best reflect their identity (for full list scroll down to the end of this article).

These new options include a variety of terms such as “agender” (users who lack a gender), “FTM” (female to male transsexual), “gender fluid” (a person who experiences either gender at different times), and “two-spirit” (a Native American traditional gender).   

Moreover, the update also allows users to choose which pronouns the website should apply to address them. In addition to the binary “he” and “she”, “they” was added as a neutral alternative. For example, Facebook may now notify friends with a prompt saying “Write on Greg’s wall for their birthday”.

While this change might not affect all of the social network’s 159 million monthly users, Facebook believes that this move matters to those who felt disenfranchised by the traditional settings.  

According to a post on the Facebook Diversity page: 

“When you come to Facebook to connect with the people, causes, and organizations you care about, we want you to feel comfortable being your true, authentic self. An important part of this is the expression of gender, especially when it extends beyond the definitions of just “male” or female.” So today, we’re proud to offer a new custom gender option to help you better express your own identity on Facebook.” 

Brielle Hudson, a transitioning female software engineer on Facebook, worked on the project herself. “There’s going to be a lot of people for whom this is going to mean nothing, but for the few it does impact, it means the world,” she said.

Those who wish to customize their gender have the option to do so in secrecy. Facebook added a privacy filter to protect users who “face challenges sharing their true gender identity with others.”

To change gender identity and pronoun, head to the Settings option on your About page. Users will find the new “Custom” option added to the dropdown menu. Below it is the pronoun selection section.

FULL LIST OF NEW FACEBOOK GENDER OPTIONS:

• Agender
• Androgyne
• Androgynous
• Bigender
• Cis
• Cisgender
• Cis Female
• Cis Male
• Cis Man
• Cis Woman
• Cisgender Female
• Cisgender Male
• Cisgender Man
• Cisgender Woman
• Female to Male
• FTM
• Gender Fluid
• Gender Nonconforming
• Gender Questioning
• Gender Variant
• Genderqueer
• Intersex
• Male to Female
• MTF
• Neither
• Neutrois
• Non-binary
• Other
• Pangender
• Trans
• Trans*
• Trans Female
• Trans* Female
• Trans Male
• Trans* Male
• Trans Man
• Trans* Man
• Trans Person
• Trans* Person
• Trans Woman
• Trans* Woman
• Transfeminine
• Transgender
• Transgender Female
• Transgender Male
• Transgender Man
• Transgender Person
• Transgender Woman
• Transmasculine
• Transsexual
• Transsexual Female
• Transsexual Male
• Transsexual Man
• Transsexual Person
• Transsexual Woman
• Two-Spirit

– Rappler.com