What do you Think about Facebook's New Gender Stance?

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As I am sure you have heard by now, Facebook has revamped its options for selecting a gender. Users can now select whether they are male, female, or a custom gender label. The category has an open text-box, but suggested genders include bigender, pangender, agender, androgynous, and my favorite, cisgender (which means you identify with the gender you were biologically born into).

So what do you guys think about this change? What has always fascinated me about the transgender movement (for lack of a better term on my part) is how effectively it has leveraged itself, at least in the U.S. The Williams Institute at UCLA estimates only about 700,000 transgendered in the U.S, out of a total population of 315 million. That compares with about 800,000 Guatemalans who live in the U.S, along with many, many other smaller immigrant cohorts one rarely hears about. This suggests to me that the transgender movement is increasingly better organized, and must be better funded. This is not meant to be nefarious on my part, but I am simply fascinated.

I think it's excellent and long past due for a change.

What the hell took them so long?

I think it's ridiculous but it doesn't shock me considering it's Facebook and they are ultra-Liberal. However I haven't seen anyone talk about the unintended consequence..I don't use Facebook for a good reason..I know people and employers will judge/discriminate against you based on your views..i can't believe no one thinks that people who pre-screen for employment won't use that extra-info to exclude people from employment since hiring people like that can be a legal liability(case in point the Bon Appetite lawsuit on gender)

Well, I have the Japanese version of FB, and the only options they have are 男性 and 女性. Of course, I use 女性.

What about more than 3 million autistics? How come the transgender movement is better organized and better funded than autism self-advocates?

My dad said its because autistic people don't want to get together in a group and talk about what we need to do I laugh because it's true. But it's also sad.

Too much information - I want to learn about people through their literary skills, not though a checklist of personal data.

It's time to delete my Facebook account.

Yeah, I forgot to specify that the changes only affect U.S. English Facebook accounts so far. That said, Facebook plans to enact these changes for other language users in the coming months.

What's the difference between some of these options, such as trans female and trans woman and agender (without gender) and androgynous (which I know as a word that describes someone who doesn't appear male or female, which has to do with appearance/behavior and not identity)?

I'm all for being able to say both, none, sometimes this and sometimes that, or I have this body but am actually that, etc, but this is kind of ridiculous. 56 just sounds like making up new distinctions.

Sometimes this sometimes that - it was my impression that was what gender fluid or Bi gender meant

They have fifty freaking options. I thought it was a great thing for some of my friends who really wanted to be able to inform people of status - or those (I know several) for whom Female/Male simply does not apply. I think it is a great thing for them.

but for me - I am not about to discuss personal medical conditions that way with the whole world - that seems to me like adding Schizophrenic/Depression/whatever as a part of profile even - all of this stuff is personal to me.

Even who I am interested in is set to "me only" on Facebook. My friends know and that is fine.

I'm indifferent as the changes don't affect me one bit.

If they're positive for others, great.

I can't see how the changes could possibly be negative for anyone or why anyone would care to oppose them. Chances are there are some hateful bigoted types out there who's panties are tightly bunched over this, though. I never take anything those types say seriously, anyways, so it doesn't matter.

Happy for fellow LGBT or Transgender or Genderqueer individuals to be able to better express their gender online and not be falsely identified by the general public, but I mostly feel neutral about it. It happened, and I heard it happened. That's it. There's no more to think or say imo.

Bring it on. Three thumbs up.

I'm glad they added them but personally I'd only ever use female, lol.

When they first did it, I just took my gender off. But later on, I actually used it to come out on Facebook. Not many people payed attention, but it was nice anyways. I feel frustrated when I'm forced to mark my gender.