14 DAY TRIAL // Facebook is taking a step forward and tells everyone that they should be comfortable in their own skin. The social network has added a wide range of options for US users to choose from when trying to define their gender.
There are about 50 options to choose from, varying from “male” and “female” to “transgender” and “cisgender.”
“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,” reads a post by Facebook Diversity.
The company says that it collaborated with the Network of Support, a group of LGBT advocacy organizations to create the extensive list of gender identities. Furthermore, aside from getting to pick a custom gender, users will also be allowed to choose the pronoun they’d like to be referred to publicly.
“We also have added the ability for people to control the audience with whom they want to share their custom gender. We recognize that some people face challenges sharing their true gender identity with others, and this setting gives people the ability to express themselves in an authentic way,” Facebook wrote.
This is a step in the right direction for Facebook, but there are a few more things for the social network to do. The first is to expand these new options in the entire world, which is surely on the company’s to-do list.
Secondly, as a Facebook user point out, the “Interested in” section should also be fixed beyond “Male” and “Female” although certainly the list won’t be as long.