Facebook's New Gender Options

I've been reading the list and I can't help but feel it's a little overkill. Some new terms I think are appropriate. Others seem ridiculous.

What do you think?

My first inclination is to suggest a scientifically valid definition of gender before using the term gender as a free for all 'we can mean what we want it to mean' term. If gender is going to become a free for all willy nilly term, then Facebook has excluded far more options than the mere 50 or so they've agreed to become official Facebook genders. Shame on them for their lack of sensitivity.

Pretty sad state of affairs that I can't find a gender option.

Not on FB -- what are the options?

• Male
  
• Female
  
• MTF Trans
  
• FTM Trans
  
• Asexual

What else is there???

I would post a list, except my smartphone has trouble with that kind of complex multitasking.

The Washington Post article I read lists them with their definitions. Facebook appears to distinguish between sex and gender for their purposes, claiming sex is more the scientific basis, or biological basis for gender, yet by making that distinction they have dissected the very root of what gender is.

Where might I find this option SAI2?

Here is a list of Facebook's 51 gender options and their definitions. Strange.

Holy fuck. PC gone awry?

I don't think PC has anything to do with it. It's fucking Facebook! One of the strangest fads of the era, imho.

Lisa wrote:

Where might I find this option SAI2?

I'm not at my desk top, or I would help you. Try your Facebook help. Somewhere in the settings you should be able to see your gender settings.

I would interpret the two spirit option as racist quite frankly.

SAI2 wrote:

Lisa wrote:

Where might I find this option SAI2?

I'm not at my desk top, or I would help you. Try your Facebook help. Somewhere in the settings you should be able to see your gender settings.

It's funny.  I found the option under basic profile.  I had 2 options.  Male or female.  There was a blank for custom, so I'm wondering if someone wanted to, they could put in their preference.  (From the lengthy list you showed me.)  But I couldn't find those options as a 'stand alone',

"Custom"?

I wonder if that selection will be available at the DMV when I get my driver's license renewed.

_Howard wrote:

"Custom"?

I wonder if that selection will be available at the DMV when I get my driver's license renewed.

Probably not.  But you could probably cite FB as the last word.
Myself, I'm already working on something that suits me, as the current choices do not.

Lisa wrote:

Myself, I'm already working on something that suits me, as the current choices do not.

Do tell.

Well, of course.

The closest one was something to the effect of 'feeling' masculine sometimes, and feminine other times.  But it isn't accurate for me if it's meant in a sexual way.  
See, if I'm on the roof taking shingles off and putting shingles on, or digging post holes and mixing the cement to pour it in, or ass deep in acrylic for tiling, quite frankly, I'm not feeling flirtatious.
Nor am I unhappy doing the job I'm doing.  
However, I've managed to make mowing the lawn more of a female event.

I hope you're not confusing stereotyped behaviors with gender identity. Sounds like maybe Facebook is.

I can't say for sure if they are, I'll have to look at the descriptions again.
But yes (now that you point it out), stereotyped behaviors are troublesome if one were to analyze my life.
Of which there is absolutely no danger of happening.

Even sexual orientation is different from gender identity.

What I'd like to ask Facebook is how do they distinguish between gender identity and just making shit up. If they aren't concerned about scientific validity or accuracy as a necessary component of gender then why not just make gender identity an option the user can make up or fill in themselves. For that matter,  they could do the same thing for religious belief category. So for instance, if I self identify as a Thetan trisexual male princess open to off-world alien bestiality, I can put that as my spiritual/gender identity.

I am not a Facebook user nor a Twitter user so forgive me for making ill-informed generalizations, but what I suspect is happening here is the vast universe of people who ARE are looking for a way to connect with other people, based on some very obscure and rare likes & dislikes & fetishes.  This generation of ultra-self-centered people thinks -- perhaps with some justification? -- that it's easier to find an opposite sex partner who is into purple couches, Harry Potter, pistachios, Hot Pockets and Hello Kitty movies than it is to consider compromising or broadening one's own interests.

I thought it was cool. I chose the obvious cis female. They are only asking about the gender you want to present as, not your orientation -as in who you want to fuck.

What Lisa is describing sounds like gender fluid. Which is cool too.