Facebook adds gender identity and pronoun options

MENLO PARK, Calif., Feb. 13 (UPI) -- Facebook provides more gender identity options like "transgender," "agender" and "intersex" after consultations with LGBT groups to enable users to "express their authentic identity."

The new options will also allow users to choose the pronoun that will be used for them on the social network. The changes, which were announced today and appear to be effective immediately, let the user choose between "her," "him" and "them," which will be used when Facebook sends a user's friends updates and notifications about the user.

You can make these changes by going to the settings option no the "About" page and clicking on gender options. If a user selects "Other" they can choose from gender identities and select their pronoun preference.

"While to many this change may not mean much, for those it affects it means a great deal," said Facebook publicist Will Hodges. "We see this as one more way we can make Facebook a place where people can express their authentic identity."

Facebook also allows people to selectively display their gender preference, in acknowledgement that people still find it difficult to share their gender identity with everybody, letting them block certain users from seeing this information.

Facebook has been at the forefront of promoting and encouraging people to express their identities. For their progressive views, Facebook received a Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Media Award for fair and accurate representation of the LGBTQ community and issues that impact it.

[TechCrunch]