Paige Tillinghast – Special to the Southern News
Sexuality, gender, and LGBT rights have always been a hot topic for debate. However, over the past few years acceptance – especially from the younger generation – has been on the rise throughout the United States. While it’s not expected for everyone to be comfortable with people’s way of living, that does not mean they should be downgraded or harassed for who they are. No one should be afraid to leave their house to go to work in the morning just because they’re homosexual or transgender. Sexuality and gender should not be a deal breaker when it comes to hiring an employee, making a friend, or just exchanging a few words on a subway or bus. A person’s identification in no way affects anyone else but the person themselves, and who are we to judge when they know themselves better than we do?
On Feb. 13, Facebook made a huge decision in declaring that they would now offer a new custom gender option. So not only can you choose ‘male’ or ‘female,’ but you may also have the choice of writing whatever you identify as. There are so many different kinds of gender and sexuality these days that even I get lost as to what they are. Nevertheless, options like ‘cisgender,’ ‘transgender,’ and new pronoun choices are currently available. People can choose to be referred to as male (he/his), female (she/her), or neutral (they/their.)
Facebook wrote, “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. An important part of this is the expression of gender, especially when it extends beyond the definitions of just ‘male’ or ‘female.’ So today, we’re proud to offer a new custom gender option to help you better express your own identity on Facebook.”
Even after reading through several negative comments of feedback, the majority of the response was positive. Those who struggle on a daily basis with something like this wrote how they’re now able to express themselves even more thanks to this new option. And because not everyone is open with all of their friends and family about their identity, Facebook went even further and gave the opportunity for its users to have the ability “to control the audience with whom they want to share their custom gender.”
Facebook has over one billion users, which is huge even when compared to other social networking sites like Twitter, Tumblr and Myspace. The fact that a networking site with such a large demographic recognizes people may have different identities than just ‘male’ and ‘female’ is a revelation. With all the arguments in politics lately, we needed something positive to demonstrate that there are citizens who do actually care and want to stick up for what’s right. People can disagree with other’s life choices and ways they live, but it’s wrong to criticize anyone for how they were born and/or how they identify themselves.
Facebook in no way insulted any group of society; they were merely giving others the options they deserve in order to be who they are. More changes can certainly be made on Facebook, but this is one big change and a great way to start.
