Gender Options on Facebook

979 Words2 Pages

On February 13th, Facebook added a new feature to its ever-growing customization regime; now users can choose a gender option other than “male” or “female”. Many people were startled by this because, after all, what else could there be? Actually, there’s now fifty-eight things it could be, ranging from agender to pangender and everything in between. There has been much debate on the necessity of these new options, some arguments being stronger than others. For many, it has become a debate on human rights. While many people do not think that the new Facebook gender options are necessary, it still needs to be analyzed from a biological, psychological, social, and spiritual viewpoint in order to understand human aspects.
In order to understand the different gender options, they first need to be explained. Some are familiar, while some are completely foreign. An article from ABC News gave comprehensive definitions for all fifty eight of Facebook’s new gender options. Someone who is bigender identifies as both male and female simultaneously. Someone who identifies as CIS, an abbreviated form of “comfortable in skin”, identifies with the sex assigned to them at birth (male or female). Gender nonconforming refers to someone who identifies as a gender that is outside of the “traditional” spectrum; they’re not male and they’re not female, but they’re not both. Someone who is pangender identifies as all available genders simultaneously. Trans (and all variations of the wording) refers to someone who does not identify as the gender they were assigned at birth, and now identifies as the opposite. They may or may not undergo reassignment surgery to change their sex. Most people are genderfluid to some extent, even if they don’t realize it. Bei...

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Gender Spectrum. "Understanding Gender." Genderspectrum.org. Gender Spectrum, 2014. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.
Goldman, Russell. "Here’s a List of 58 Gender Options for Facebook Users." ABC News. ABC News Network, 13 Feb. 2014. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.
Mercado, Stephanie. "Here's What the New Facebook Gender Options Mean." TakePart. Participant Media, 18 Feb. 2014. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.
Rothenberg, Paula S. Race, Class, and Gender in the United States: An Integrated Study. New York: St. Martin's, 1998. Print. Page 81
Steinmetz, Katy. "A Comprehensive Guide to Facebook's New Options for Gender Identity." Time. Time, 14 Feb. 2014. Web. 02 Mar. 2014.
"Transgender Rights: Timeline." Issues: Understanding Controversy and Society. ABC-CLIO,
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