In a move that will make great strides in supporting young people with a range of gender identities, Facebook Feb. 13 announced it has expanded the way users can identify their gender on their profile.
The need for the social media giant's change is bolstered by a new report released today on gender-expansive youth or young respondents who identified as transgender or chose "other" and wrote in their own terms published by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation in partnership with Gender Spectrum.
In a survey of 10,000 LGBT youth, nearly 10 percent of respondents fall into the "gender-expansive" grouping underscoring the need for moves like the one Facebook announced today. The report further analyzes the results of a groundbreaking survey of LGBT-identified youth first reported in "Growing Up LGBT in America." Of the 925 gender-expansive respondents, one-third identified as transgender and two-thirds wrote in their own terms, such as queer, gender-queer, gender fluid and non-binary.
"Over the past few years, a person's Facebook profile truly has become their online identity, and now Facebook has taken a milestone step to allow countless people to more honestly and accurately represent themselves," said HRC President Chad Griffin. "Facebook's action is one that I hope others heed in supporting individuals' multifaceted identities."
Unfortunately, the data also reveal that many of these gender-expansive youth find themselves in an environment that is not supportive of their health and well-being. Less than half ( 43 percent ) of the gender-expansive youth report having an adult in their family they could turn to if they felt worried or sad. And gender-expansive youth are much less likely to report "definitely fitting in" in their community than their peers. Only 5 percent reported "definitely fitting in," with 30 percent reporting "definitely not fitting in."
The report shows that only 4 percent of the gender-expansive youth reported being "very happy," nearly seven times less than their peers. Nearly one in 10 gender-expansive youth reported being "very unhappy."
Some of the report's other key findings:
More than four in 10 ( 42 percent ) gender-expansive youth report "frequently" or "often" being called names involving anti-gay slurs and 40 percent report being excluded by peers "frequently" or "often";
Nearly half of gender-expansive youth ( 49 percent ) reported experimenting with alcohol and drugs, double the rate of their peers;
More than 50 percent of gender-expansive youth reported "never participating" in the majority of activities listed in the survey ( e.g., sports, church/religious youth groups and service organizations ). If it weren't for after school activities, online LGBT community and school Gay Straight Alliances, gender-expansive youth would not be engaged in activities that build confidence and social skills.
"The rising tide of equality cannot leave anyone behind, and this new report shows that we've got to work harder than ever before to make sure that every young person is guaranteed an equal future, no matter their gender identity or expression," said Ellen Kahn, Director of the HRC Children, Youth and Families Program, and a professional social worker. "These teens have incredible honesty in the way they express themselves, and the caregivers in their lives have a lot to learn from them. It's up to us to ensure that they have the networks of support and understanding that every child needs to thrive."
"This report reminds us how critical it is for each of us to discuss these important issues with the youth in our lives" said Lisa Kenney, Executive Director of Gender Spectrum. "You don't need to be an expert. It really comes down to doing three things: educate yourself on gender; create a safe space to discuss and explore issues related to gender identity and expression; and advocate for greater gender-inclusiveness in your community."
Examples of youth identifying outside a binary have been increasingly highlighted in the media. Lori Duron, author of Raising My Rainbow, wrote on HRC's blog today about her young son's experience as a gender-expansive youth, pointing to this report as a clarion call to adults to do more for these youth.
The report is being released at the HRC Foundation's inaugural Time to THRIVE conference, a gathering of more than 600 youth-serving professionals focusing on building awareness and cultural competency, learning current and emerging best practices, and gathering resources from leading experts and national organizations working with LGBT youth. Time to THRIVE is being co-presented by the National Education Association and the American Counseling Association, and sponsored by AT&T.
This report, part of a series of efforts to analyze the landscape for LGBT youth, includes a call to action for parents, caregivers and educators of gender-expansive youth. A full copy of the report is available at: www.hrc.org/youth-gender.
Gender Spectrum provides education, training and support to help create a gendersensitive and inclusive environment for all children and teens. We provide an array of services designed to help families, schools, professionals and organizations understand and address the concepts of gender identity and expression, including how society's current definitions of gender can be detrimental to any young person where they do not fit neatly into these categories. Our collaboration results in the ability to identify and remove obstacles hindering youth, allowing them to be valued as their authentic selves.
"This new feature is a step forward in recognizing transgender people and allows them to tell their authentic story in their own words," said GLAAD President Sarah Kate Ellis. "Once again, Facebook is on the forefront of ensuring that the platform is safe and accessible to all of its LGBT users."
"Facebook users from across the country have been asking for the ability to reflect their gender accurately, and today Facebook showed they have been listening," said Allison Palmer, GLAAD's former Vice President of Campaigns & Programs who worked on the project with Facebook and current GLAAD staff. "Facebook's new gender options will make a difference to many transgender and gender nonconforming users, who are now empowered to accurately describe their own identities on the platform."
Facebook's custom gender options include many common terms used by the transgender and gender nonconforming communities. While the set of options is not comprehensive, the company will continue to work with LGBT organizations to improve the set of options and respond to user need. Transgender people face staggeringly disproportionate rates of discrimination, as well as higher rates of suicide.
According to the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the National Center for Transgender Equality:
- Ninety percent of transgender and gender nonconforming people report harassment, discrimination and mistreatment on the job;
- Forty-one percent of transgender people reported attempting suicide, compared to 1.6% of the general population.
According to the Gay, Lesbian, & Straight Education Network ( GLSEN ):
Nearly half ( 42 percent ) of LGBT youth reported being harassed or bullied online, three times more than non-LGBT youth. 27 percent reported feeling unsafe online.
- One in four LGBT youth ( 26 percent ) said they had been bullied online specifically because of their sexual orientation or gender expression in the past year.
Abbe Land, Executive Director & CEO of The Trevor Project, which operates crisis intervention and suicide prevention services for LGBTQ youth nationwide, including a social network,TrevorSpace.org specifically for these youth, released the following statement about the new policy:
"Safely being out online and safe expression of one's gender identity are among the top areas of concern for youth who reach out to us. As a member of Facebook's Network of Support since 2010, The Trevor Project is very excited about the social network's move to allow users to express their true gender in a safe way. Studies show that the stronger a person's support structure, the more likely they are to reach out for help when they need it. Until today, the options for youth to expand their social support network online were limited. For many LGBTQ youth, The Trevor Project's social networkTrevorSpace.org has been their only option for expressing their true gender identity when online. Facebook's newly expanded gender identity policy means youth can choose how to safely expand their support structures and safety nets through social media.
"Today's announcement has already begun a conversation, and for some, the questions may be challenging. The Trevor Project is here, 24/7 to answer the calls or questions of LGBTQ youth in crisis and who need support at 1-866.488-7386 ."
Here is a blog post from a transgender engineer named Brie Harrison at Facebook: www.huffingtonpost.com/brie-harrison/custom-gender_b_4783221.html .
For more information visit: www.glaad.org/blog/facebook-introduces-custom-gender-field-allow-users-more-accurately-reflect-who-they-are .
The official Facebook note is available here: www.facebook.com/facebookdiversity .