Facebook promotes gender diversity
Gender is often thought of in polarized terms and within our society it’s often assumed that you’re male or female, a man or a woman, or a boy or a girl. When we meet people, we often use gender as one of the first characteristics to identify someone. When filling out forms, we often must choose between placing a check mark inside either the box marked “male” or “female,” and public washrooms are often divided according to gender as well. The underlying assumption behind these norms is that “male” and “female” constitute two distinct categories – and that individuals must belong in one of these two groups.
On a daily basis, people are often forced to define themselves within this binary, and gender undeniably plays a huge role in forming our social identities. The male/female binary remains pervasive because it is seemingly an unquestioned aspect of our society’s structure – however, it’s a system that can be oppressive to those whose identities don’t conform to these defined roles. In reality, gender identity is far more diverse and complex.
Facebook has recently taken a more progressive stance on gender diversity and has opened up a new gender category. No longer limited to the gender binary, users can now choose “male,” “female,” or a “custom” option which includes over 50 identifiers, including gender fluid, gender non-conforming, genderqueer, intersex, female to male, male to female, trans male, trans female, transsexual, and two-spirit. Users are also given the option to keep their gender identity private, and are allowed to choose which pronoun they’d like to be referred to as – whether male (he/his), female (she/her), or neutral (they/their).
Many LGBT activists have applauded the change, which will allow everyone who uses Facebook in U.S. English a greater freedom in choosing how their gender identity will be represented online. According to the Facebook Diversity page, the change is meant to encourage each user to feel comfortable being their true, authentic self, by stating: “An important part of this is the expression of gender, especially when it extends beyond the definitions of just ‘male’ or ‘female.’ So today, we’re proud to offer a new custom gender option to help you better express your own identity on Facebook.”
Though some hold the view that there is no need to complicate gender identity beyond the male/female binary, it is important to acknowledge the distinction between gender expression and biological sex.
According to the Ontario Human Rights Commission, gender identity can differ from a person’s birth-assigned sex, since it is linked to a person’s sense of self and the subjective sense of being male or female. This may include transgender – people whose experience includes existing in more than one gender; transsexual – people who were identified at birth as one sex, but identify themselves differently; intersex – people not easily classified as “male” or “female” based on physical characteristics at birth; and many other identities. In reality there is a wide range of gender expression – referring to the external attributes, behaviour, appearance, and even dress that people use to express themselves.
However, in an article published in The Guardian, Jane Fae writes that rather than opening up gender, Facebook should remove all gender options instead. As Fae points out, gender is one of many pieces of information that Facebook uses to target advertising to its users: “Societal gendering of pretty much everything, from toys and games, through to the ads that pop up on your timeline, is a live issue. Many women have deliberately selected ‘male’ as the only way to remove a succession of tiresome ads for wrinkle cream and diet products from their timeline.” In terms of data use, “gender is rarely helpful, except in a marketing context.” Facebook still needs to know their user’s genders in order to capitalize on advertising revenue, and it still gives precedence to the binary.
Still, providing users the option to identify outside of the gender binary is a progressive move, and while some people may not feel the need to customize their gender, the ability to precisely define your identity (in your own terms) will make a difference. Language is a tool that has the power to either empower or to oppress, and allowing users to define their gender identity from a wide variety of terms will have positive implications for those who may feel marginalized by the limitations of a gender binary that fails to recognize the experience of non gender-conforming individuals.
Social media has become an increasingly integral component of our identities, and such a widely used social-networking site, such as Facebook, making these options available for its users opens up the possibility for greater awareness, understanding and acceptance of gender diversity.