Author | Oscar Lopez
Facebook has weighed in to the LGBT movement with a subtle but significant change in its profile settings. Users now have the opportunity to customize their gender identity by having the option of choosing from over 50 different gender options. These include not just the traditional gender binary of “male” or “female” but also “transgender,” “cisgender,” “gender fluid,” “intersex” and “neither.” Users in the United States can also choose their gender pronoun, whether that be “his”, “her” or the gender neutral option (“they” or “their”).
To some people this might not seem like a big deal– but to others it is a significant step towards greater visibility of the trans community and an acknowledgement that gender comes in many colors. To discuss its impact, we spoke to one of our favorite queer artists, Ketch Wehr, for his opinion.
For Ketch, the significance of this move is dependent on the individual user. “ I would rather have a lot less to do with the internet than I already do,” he admits, but concedes that “many TGNC people rely heavily on the internet for support, community, and visibility. This is the case especially if they are isolated from other transfolks, so this can mean a great deal to people.”
Indeed, the personalization of your online identity for connecting with people was a central motivating factor for the change. “When you come to Facebook to connect with the people, causes, and organizations you care about, we want you to feel comfortable being your true, authentic self,” Facebook said in a post on its Diversity page.
Thus for some TGNC people who use Facebook and social media, this will have a significant impact on how they reveal themselves online. For others, like Ketch, the impact is more symbolic than practical: “I really haven’t gone through the options yet, sometimes I think I’d like FB to know less about me to begin with, but then I’m already very open about myself as a trans artist so I guess the point is pretty damn moot.”
There are a number of people who probably agree with Ketch: even the queerest among us don’t need Facebook to validate our existence. Yet undoubtedly this is a step in the right direction:
“Visibility is a big part of trans politics and survival,” says Ketch. “Being able to present oneself as their self-identified gender and to have that recognized on any platform is often a massive fight, I’m still fighting all the time for my personal rights to have certain documents have any semblance of “accuracy.” So it’s probably pretty validating for many trans people.”
Yet ultimately this is just a small step in what is a very big mountain to climb. While the symbolic impact of this move cannot be underplayed, there is a lot more that needs to happen in terms of legislation for the Trans community before true equality and proper T rights are achieved. As Kate Barnhart, who runs New Alternatives, a center for homeless LGBT youth explains, “transgender people are in a position now that gay and lesbian people were in maybe the 60s.” Facebook’s change is a step in bringing the community into the 21st Century. But there’s a long way to go yet.
Ketch sums it up best: “Does this make me think highly of the FB? No, this is 101 level trans competency. Just because it is unusual does not make it a breakthrough, but I’m glad it happened.”
