The online world is beginning to vastly recognize that the male-female dichotomy isn’t suitable for the inclusion of everyone—and Facebook made a giant leap in now creating a multitude of gender identification options for its users.
The LGBTQ community, particularly those within the trans* community, applauded Facebook for their custom gender options. That applause included praise from Long Beach’s own LGBTQ Center.
“We are thrilled that our community, as well as communities everywhere, now have the option to select identities and pronouns online that actually reflect who we are offline,” said Porter Gilberg, Administrative Director of the LGBTQ Center.
That reflection of people’s offline identities is what some LGBTQ leaders and advocates feel will increase exposure for those who do not fall in alignment with traditional or biological gender roles. Individuals whose identity aligns with their biological sex are often called “cisgendered.”
Gilberg himself has 6 identities—which he described as “thrilled to have”—now listed on his Facebook:
Neither, Transmasculine, Other, Gender Nonconforming, Non-binary, and Gender Variant.
“As an international social media leader, Facebook’s new custom gender options send a clear message to the world that all lives and identities are worth acknowledging, respecting, and celebrating,” Gilberg continued. “We couldn’t be more proud that Facebook has taken this tremendous step towards full equity for trans* and gender non-conforming voices online.”
There are a total of 58 additional gender options available for one’s own choosing on their Facebook profile:
- 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
NOTE: The use of the term “trans*” [with the asterisk] is an umbrella term to include all those within the gender identity spectrum. “Trans” [without the asterisk] is often apple to trans men and women alone.