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Google embraces transgender community with more gender options on Google+

The new options
Image Credit: Rachael Bennett's Google+ page

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Google is opening up about ways that people can describe their gender on Google+.

Instead of restricting users to “male,” “female,” and “other,” the company will soon let users type the term they prefer into a text field, according to a Google+ post today from Googler Rachael Bennett. Google+ users can also provide Google with a designated pronoun the network should use to refer to them on their profile, to customize phrases Google+ automatically generates, like “In her circles.”

Google will roll out the new options to users over the next few days, Bennett wrote.

The new freedom for users to self-describe their gender follows a similar move from Facebook in February. In June, Facebook went further and allowed users in the United Kingdom to choose from 70 gender descriptions.


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That same month, Google showed its support for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community with small user-interface changes in commemoration of Pride celebrations.