Gender’s Role in Facebook and Google - SlashGear - That they may have life and have it to the full.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Gender’s Role in Facebook and Google - SlashGear

I’m going to tell you absolutely nothing about myself that should matter to you. I am a male human. I was born with XY chromosomes, and my body parts hew to the genetic norms of a human male. I am heterosexual. My ex-wife was a female human, and I will seek out new partners who are also female humans (‘how romantic,’ I know). I prefer female humans to male humans when it comes to love and its various accoutrements. I am mostly masculine, though I do have some decidedly feminine qualities about me. In the traditional ideas of masculinity, I fit into some norms, though I also like some traditionally feminine colors and design aesthetics, I participate in many activities that are considered more feminine than masculine, and I reject certain masculine traits as unappealing.

Like I said, this tells you nothing about me. Based on these characteristics, you would not be able to pick me out of a crowd. My friends and co-workers have learned nothing about be me in the above paragraph that would help or hurt our relationships. On a social networking site, you might have been able to guess at some of the above based on my picture, my profile, etc, but this information would not bring us closer together as friends.

Google launched Google+ this week. As Silicon Alley Insider points out, Google+ has made one interesting change that Facebook has yet to espouse. In the section for gender, Google+ lets you choose between Male, Female, and Other.

Wow. What a forward-thinking social network. Because if there is one thing I know about people who do not self-identify as either Male or Female, it is that they want to be called “Other.” In fact, most people I know who do not fit into social norms prefer “Other” as an identifying term. Not White or Black? Then Other. Not Christian or Jewish? Other. Republican or Democrat? Vote Other. Other is such a wonderful, friendly term. Nobody has every been offended by being characterized as “Other.” It’s inclusive. It’s accurate.

It’s complete nonsense.

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