Facebook to offer users new gender options

YOU don’t have to be just male or female on Facebook anymore. The social media giant is adding a customizable option with about 50 different terms people can use to identify their gender as well as three preferred pronoun choices: him, her or them.
Facebook said the changes, launched on Thursday, initially cover the company’s 159 million monthly users in the US and are aimed at giving people more choices in how they describe themselves, such as androgynous, bi-gender, intersex, gender fluid or transsexual.

“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,’’ said Facebook software engineer Brielle Harrison, who worked on the project and is herself undergoing gender transformation, from male to female. On Thursday, while watchdogging the software for any problems, she said she was also changing her Facebook identity from Female to TransWoman.

“All too often transgender people like myself and other gender nonconforming people are given this binary option, do you want to be male or female? What is your gender? And it’s kind of disheartening because none of those let us tell others who we really are,” she said. “This really changes that, and for the first time I get to go to the site and specify to all the people I know what my gender is.”

Facebook, which has 1.15 billion active monthly users around the world, also allows them to keep their gender identity private and will continue to do so.

The change to the gender selection option is seen as a major step toward acceptance for people who don’t self-identify as male or female, but the high-profile development seemed senseless to those who believe in two genders, no more.

“Of course Facebook is entitled to manage its wildly popular site as it sees fit, but here is the bottom line: It’s impossible to deny the biological reality that humanity is divided into two halves — male and female,” said Jeff Johnston, an issues analyst for Focus on the Family, an influential national religious organisation based in Denver. “Those petitioning for the change insist that there are an infinite number of genders, but just saying it doesn’t make it so. That said, we have a great deal of compassion for those who reject their biological sex and believe they are the opposite sex.”

Masen Davis, executive director of the San Francisco-based Transgender Law Center, said it may be hard for some people to understand the importance of having the ability to select from multiple genders online. But he said many transgender people will be thrilled with the change.

“We applaud Facebook for making it possible for people to be their authentic selves online,” he said.

Ben_Reilly wrote:Merged the topics.

feelthelove wrote:

Ben_Reilly wrote:Merged the topics.

Thanks Ben, sorry, must have missed the original thread

* We've averaged more than 50 posts per day. Again, last December was our most active month for posting, but this month is well on pace to eclipse that mark (which was 7,774). We've also averaged nearly five new topics started per day.

Tess. wrote:Genderfluid??   

Ben_Reilly wrote:Just to add something about the site activity -- I posted this less than a month ago:

* We've averaged more than 50 posts per day. Again, last December was our most active month for posting, but this month is well on pace to eclipse that mark (which was 7,774). We've also averaged nearly five new topics started per day.

Now it's more like 94 posts per day with just over six new topics. :D

Eilzel wrote:I think that's ridiculous to be honest. Surely someone is either man or woman; if you have a sex change you identify as the one you changed to.

Anything else is just complicating matters and purposefully setting yourself aside as an 'other'?

feelthelove wrote:

Ben_Reilly wrote:Just to add something about the site activity -- I posted this less than a month ago:

* We've averaged more than 50 posts per day. Again, last December was our most active month for posting, but this month is well on pace to eclipse that mark (which was 7,774). We've also averaged nearly five new topics started per day.

Now it's more like 94 posts per day with just over six new topics. :D

Congratulations Ben, it's really taken off.  You have a great forum, really enjoying posting here x

Eilzel wrote:I think that's ridiculous to be honest. Surely someone is either man or woman; if you have a sex change you identify as the one you changed to.

Anything else is just complicating matters and purposefully setting yourself aside as an 'other'?

feelthelove wrote:

Eilzel wrote:I think that's ridiculous to be honest. Surely someone is either man or woman; if you have a sex change you identify as the one you changed to.

Anything else is just complicating matters and purposefully setting yourself aside as an 'other'?

Hey Les   xxx

Do you know what these terms mean? Is it my age, my sheltered life???!!

NemsAgain wrote:They missed off Pansexual