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Did you know that Facebook lets you choose the gender you identify with for your account?
When filling up forms, people are often forced to choose between “male” and “female.” In reality, there are multiple gender identities beyond male and female. Reflecting this on social platforms is important for representation and people’s validation.
Facebook’s Diversity Team has worked with network of LGBTQ groups to accommodate a wider range of genders. In its first step toward gender inclusivity, Facebook added 56 gender options in 2014, including non-binary and intersex. Facebook also lets users choose their preferred pronouns.
By 2015, the company went a step further, adding an option to enter a custom gender in a free-form field as well. When this option was rolled out, Facebook reduced the number of preset options to 14, plus the custom free-form field.
Read on to know more about Facebook gender options and why they are significant.
Facebook Gender Options: A Step Towards Inclusion
For social media companies, queer inclusion should be a social responsibility. The Facebook gender options are an important step towards inclusion and queer representation.
Facebook’s first update in 2014 only allowed users to choose from 56 presets. Users could type in a text field and a drop-down menu of autocomplete choices would appear. While this was significant, it was also criticized because options were still predefined.
Now, users can choose any word to represent themselves with. Although Facebook still provides autocomplete suggestions, complete freedom to enter a custom gender is provided as well.
After selecting a Facebook custom gender, users can also select a pronoun. These choices includes male (he/him), female (she/her), and gender neutral options (they/them).
Facebook also allows users to set the privacy settings of their specific gender. This means users can select the audience of their gender or make it public.
Facebook’s Gender Options List
Currently, these are the 14 preset gender options you can choose on your Facebook account, plus the custom free-form field:
- Agender
- Androgynous
- Bigender
- Cisgender
- Cis Woman
- Cis Man
- Non-binary
- Gender Fluid
- Gender Questioning
- Transgender
- Trans Woman
- Trans Man
- Transgender Person
- Two-Spirit
- Custom (A freeform field to enter your own gender)
Interestingly, if you begin typing other words, a wide variety of other gender options will be auto-suggested as well.
This indicates that although Facebook presents a limited-number of presets, plus the custom field, it maintains a much longer list of gender options.
Facebook Original List of 56 Genders
Previously, this was the full list of 56 gender options that was introduced in 2014:
- 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
Find anything that fits your profile? Get them from Facebook’s list of gender choices.
How to Edit Your Facebook Gender Options
Does this list have you feeling seen and represented? Here’s how to change your gender on Facebook:
- Log into your Facebook account. Next, go to your Facebook profile.
- Click on the “About” tab.
- Once there, click on “Contact” and “Basic Info”.
- Under the Basic Info section, find your Gender. Select the “Edit” icon and choose from the drop-down menu, which will show 3 options, including Male, Female, and Custom.
- Choosing Custom will give you a freeform field. Clicking on this will open another drop-down menu with preset options. Edit or add your own gender here.
- You can also set your preferred pronouns from here. Under “What pronoun do you use?” specify which pronouns you prefer and add them to your profile.
- Click on the Facebook “Privacy” button to set who can see your gender.
You can make your profile’s gender “Public”, set it to be viewable for friends and family only, or limit it to specific people.
Click on “Save” to keep your changes.
Gender Diversity on Facebook (And Beyond)
Binary gender roles and expectations common in modern culture can make the lives of queer people difficult. What helps LGBTQ+ people is when they see their internal identities reflected back to them in the media.
Thankfully, queer representation has become better today than in past decades. GLAAD’s 2017-2018 annual report shows that out of 901 regular cable TV characters, 6.4% are queer.
To challenge gender norms, representation must be expansive and accessible. Social media is one important platform to achieve this.
Nonetheless, mental health concerns about social media are valid. There are also many harms lurking on the internet like predators and cyberbullying. However, the positive impacts social media can do to affirm queer identity is evident.
Especially for LGBTQ youth, the internet can give them a safe space. Not all queer people are “out” or have a supportive family. Social media can be a place where LGBTQ+ people can feel normal and connect with other similar people.
Live Your Truth Online
It’s important to understand that people’s gender identity and gender expression can be expansive. Because gender identity is a personal identity, only you can know how to best represent it on social media (and whether that identity should be set to public or private).
Considering the pressures of a gender binary culture (male/female), advancing representation for those outside the binary is inclusive and valuable.
Because safe spaces on social media allow LGBTQ+ people to feel normal and validated, Facebook’s gender options are an important step towards creating a safer environment online.
Now that you know how to change and customize your gender on Facebook, let us know what option you choose and why. You can answer in the comments or connect with us here.
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