Advertisement

We need your help now

Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.

You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.

If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.

AP Photo/Noah Berger
LGBT

Facebook moves beyond male and female with new gender identity options

Users in the US can now use 50 different custom gender terms – such as bi-gender and androgynous – to describe themselves.

IF YOU SIGNED up to Facebook before, you were only able to choose if you were male or female, but now you will have more options to select from when you’re updating your info.

The site is now allowing users to choose from more 50 different terms to describe their gender – using terms like bi-gender, transsexual or androgynous.

The type of pronoun used to describe someone on the site can be selected as well. Depending on their gender, a person can be referred to as him, her or neutral (they/their) on the site.

There is also the option to control who see this custom gender to accommodate those who wish to keep it a secret.

imageSome of the new gender terms available to US users (Image: TheJournal.ie/Quinton O’Reilly)

Currently, the feature is only available to those who use Facebook in US English, where there are 159 million monthly active users, but Facebook will be making it a global feature after it works with gay and transgender activists to come up with terms appropriate in other countries.

The site has more than 1.2 billion monthly active users worldwide, and 945 million active users coming from mobile.

(Additional reporting from AP)

Read: Turns out a lot of people watched those personalised Facebook videos >

Read: Boy tells mammy he has no friends for birthday party, she finds him a million online >

Your Voice
Readers Comments
66
    Submit a report
    Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
    Thank you for the feedback
    Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.