How to Catch My Eye ~ Real Changes!

(please read Friday's post and take the poll.  I hope to follow-up based on your comments and e-mails.  Start your comment with "private" if you don't want it posted.)

This is probably old news now but (from AP)...

SAN FRANCISCO — Facebook announced Thursday that its 159 million U.S. users now have dozens of options for completing the gender question on their profiles. The social media giant has been working with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights groups to expand the choices beyond male and female. The result: a “custom” option that lets users pick from about 50 terms, including transsexual, androgynous and intersex.

Another AP article is here.

If you go to your Basic Information, you can select "Male," "Female," or "Custom" gender.  You can't just enter anything, although it looks as if you can't.  (So, sorry, "Fabulous" is not a gender choice.)

As you type you get a subset of possibilities.  Pick one ("gender questioning?" "transwoman?" "cis?") and you get a chance to add another.  Part-timers are limited to "trans*" or "gender fluid" perhaps; there is no "crossdressing" or "transvestite."  It seems like that's a gap, considering "androgynous" is allowed.  There is a "two spirit" (I like that) but no "pre-" or "post-op."  But they are discussing gender and calling it such.

I didn't see a way to list all choices, other than to try letters and see what shows up in the short list.  I went through several attempts before I saw "two spirit" and "neutrois."

There's also a privacy choice next to the gender selection.  You can choose who sees your label.  My first reaction was this is a direct affront to my "don't care" philosophy, but I can see people who are out or willing to be out to their friends and family but when a potential employer checks up on them they don't want to share their "non-binary" status.

If you don't like labels, there is an "Other" choice.

And can anyone explain what "neutrois" is?

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