From GLSEN
NEW YORK ( Feb. 26, 2015 ) — GLSEN Executive Director, Dr. Eliza Byard, applauded Facebook's decision to allow users to add their own description beyond the pre-set options to accurately describe their gender identity. Users can also control with whom they share their gender identity, an important safety and privacy feature.
"Facebook's new free-form field for gender identity is a huge step forward for transgender, gender nonconforming and gender queer youth," said Dr. Byard, "The internet is an essential source of resources, support and community for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender ( LGBT ) youth, and one of its most important 'living rooms' now better reflects their reality and self-understanding."
In GLSEN's report, Out Online: The Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Youth on the Internet, LGBT youth indicated the Internet is a space that offers safer opportunities to express who they are, find peer support and gain access to resources not necessarily available in person, and nearly one-third said they were out more online that in person. However, the latest edition of GLSEN's National School Climate Survey recently found that 49 percent of LGBT students experienced electronic harassment, or "cyberbullying," in the past year.
From HRC
The Human Rights Campaign ( HRC ) commended Facebook for a new, inclusive feature the social networking giant rolled out today that will allow individuals to use their own words to describe their gender identity.
The change builds on the "Custom Gender" option introduced last year by Facebook, which provides users a list of more than 50 gender identities they can choose from to describe themselves while building their online profile at the site. The feature will now include a free-form field in which individuals who use Facebook in US English can self-identify with their own words.
The need for the new option is underscored by HRC Foundation's gender-expansive youth report, which found that many young survey respondents wrote their own description for their gender identity. In the survey of 10,000 LGBT youth, nearly 10 percent identified as transgender or gender-expansive, with more than 600 using their own words to describe their gender identity.
"Facebook is a place where many LGBT users can be exactly who we are, free of the legal, social and financial barriers facing us offline," said Jay Brown, Director of Program Strategies for the HRC Foundation. "Creating a free-form field for gender is a perfect solution for ensuring gender-expansive users have that kind of freedom."
In announcing the new feature, the company said that it recognizes that "some people face challenges sharing their true gender identity with others, and this setting gives people the ability to express themselves in an authentic way."
Said Deena Fidas, Director of HRC Foundation's Workplace Equality Program and co-author of its Corporate Equality Index ( CEI ): "Facebook has demonstrated a commitment to LGBT equality, both within the company, earning a 100 percent on our Corporate Equality Index, which measures workplace LGBT inclusion, and through these very meaningful changes to their networking platform."
