Daily Talker: Facebook Adds More Gender Options
You'll now have a lot more options -- nearly fifty terms -- when filling out your gender information on Facebook.
The social networking site has been working with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights groups to expand the choices beyond male and female, and says the change is aimed at giving people more choices in how they describe themselves.
Among the options now available are Agender, Gender Questioning, Transexual, Two-spirit, and Other.
The National Center for Transgender Equality celebrated the changes. "As one of the most visited sites on the Internet, it's a significant sign of progress to have the realities of transgender and gender non-conforming people reflected on the platform," said Mara Keisling, the group's executive director.
But the religious organization Focus on the Family said just because there are these new options, it doesn't make them true. "Of course Facebook is entitled to manage its wildly popular site as it sees fit, but here is the bottom line: It's impossible to deny the biological reality that humanity is divided into two halves - male and female," said issues analyst Jeff Johnston.
What do you think of the change? Is this a positive move for the social networking site, or should the gender options remain limited to "male" or "female"? Add your comment below, and watch for them on WBZ News in the Morning between 4 and 7 a.m.
