The Associated Press reported today that the social media giant, Facebook, will provide 50 different terms for people to use to identify their gender in addition to three preferred pronoun choices: him, her or them. The changes go into effect on Thursday, February 13, 2014 and the options in the list will evolve based on user input.
In response to this development, NCTE Executive Director Mara Keisling said, “At a time in which transgender people still face high rates of bullying, disrespect, harassment, and violence, this welcome change is another step in the recognition of transgender and gender non-conforming people. As one of the most visited sites on the Internet, it’s a significant sign of progress to have the realities of transgender and gender non-conforming people reflected on the platform. “
To update your gender, follow these steps:
- Click the “edit” button for Basic Information
- In the pop-up menu, select the “custom” option
- In the field that appears below that, type in your gender and a list of options will appear
While NCTE celebrates this development, we encourage Facebook to consider other policies that help maintain the privacy of transgender people. For example, the “Groups” function has, in the past, outed LGBT young people to parents and friends because Facebook does not require consent from a user to be added into a group. NCTE also encourages Facebook to make LGBT-specific privacy and security information available to users.