Facebook Introduces Gender Options: Everything You Need to Know

Here's a huge leap taken toward eradicating gender discrimination once and for all. According to reports, popular social networking site Facebook has introduced a customizable option with around 50 different terms which users can now use to identify their genders, alongside three different pronoun choices - him, her or them.

According to Facebook, per the information it shared with The Associated Press prior to the option's launch on Thursday, the new changes initially have the company's 159 million monthly users in the U.S. Under its wing. Also, the new changes are aimed at providing people with more choices for describing themselves - such as androgynous, bi-gender, intersex, gender fluid or transsexual.

"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'," the official Facebook Diversity page states.

"We collaborated with our Network of Support, a group of leading LGBT advocacy organizations, to offer an extensive list of gender identities that many people use to describe themselves."

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"Moreover, people who select a custom gender will now have the ability to choose the pronoun they'd like to be referred to publicly - male (he/his), female (she/her) or neutral (they/their)," it further adds.

As of now, Facebook, which has a little more than a billion active monthly users around the world, allow users to keep their gender identity private and will continue to do so hereon.

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The Facebook Diversity page also adds that the company has added the ability for people to control the people with whom they want to share their custom gender. "We recognize 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," it says.

The new changes made to the site have already brought in dozens of appreciative postings on the company's diversity website.