Students who use Facebook no longer have to choose between being male and female. In fact, now they can choose from more than 50 new gender options.
Although most people are unfamiliar with many of the new gender options released Feb. 13, to some students it could mean the world.
Facebook’s decision will help college-aged transgender students feel more accepted on campus and help bring awareness to others about the different gender identities.
“It’s a sign that society is more aware,” said Reilly-Owen Clemens, a transgender graduate student at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Fla. “It’s probably a critical stepping stone and will help people move from sympathy to support.”
The new gender options provide multiple opportunities for the transgender community to gain acceptance said LB Hannahs, director of LGBT affairs for UF.
It would help people who identify differently than cisgender or normative gender to come out and make their transitions public and provide others with the opportunity to learn more about different ways to identify with gender, Hannahs said.