Wednesday 23 September 2015

Facebook opens up about gender identity.


In an article entitled: I Exist, and Gender Identity Is Also a Civil Rights Issue (2012), 17-Year-Old CJ Kellman wrote about Facebook, ‘…who thought I would have pressure from Facebook to decide whether I am male or female.

This echoed the frustrations of many Facebook users the world throughout. CJ continued, ‘If Facebook offered the option of ‘other’ for gender… it would be an easy solution for questioning or transgender people who currently wonder whether the social network thinks we exist.

Earlier this year the social media giant introduced dozens of options for users to identify their own gender. Users can now insert a custom gender (if the 50+ options are not appropriate), and choose between three pronouns: ‘him’, ‘her’ or, ‘they’.

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,’ Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin said. ‘Facebook’s action is one that I hope others heed in supporting individuals’ multifaceted identities.

Ari Chivukula (a Facebook software engineer) thinks the change will lead to more widespread acceptance of gender diverse people. ‘We're hoping this will open up the dialogue,’Chivukula said. Transgender activist Nori Herras-Castaneda said she did expect some anger, ‘Any time the transgender community makes advances, there is backlash, and this is a very big advance…

Some of this backlash has come from the religious communities. Ben Johnson of Life Site News said, ‘Many warn the notion of gender in perpetual flux is fraught with danger and potential harm, because, unlike virtual reality identities, human bodies come in only two genders.

Even Fox News hosts had their own opinions to share. Tucker Carlson referred to intersex identification as, ‘whatever that is’, while Todd Starnes added, ‘What if you identify as a pine cone or a chicken or a weed whacker?

Facebook software engineer Brielle Harrison summed up the change best; ‘There's going to be a lot of people for whom this is going to mean nothing, but for the few it does impact, it means the world.

Friday 11 September 2015

BABYCAKES by Neil Gaiman

Short Story Review: BABYCAKES by Neil Gaiman
This story opens with the line, ‘A few years back all the animals went away.’ And this sets you up with everything you need to know.

No one knows how or why the animals vanished; they just weren’t around anymore. Someone points out that life shouldn’t change just because the animals have gone. There is no reason to change eating habits, or stop product testing.

We still have babies.

So babies replace animals. They’re eaten, ‘Baby flesh is tender and succulent.’ Their skin is flayed and worn, ‘Baby leather is soft and comfortable.’ They are tested on, and everything goes back to normal. Until… ‘Yesterday, all the babies were gone.

I think this story is a great narration on humanity, with an excellent first line that sucks you in immediately. It’s especially relevant now considering the controversial Palm Oil industry. With only 6,000 orang-utans left in the world, this story is scarily familiar.

This story makes you think. The thoughts it conjures towards the end last longer than the 500-odd words it takes to tell. Humans treat animals like tools or ingredients for their own satisfaction. But when does it go too far? As the author writes, ‘Babies can’t talk. They can hardly move. A baby is not a rational, thinking creature.’ If this is true for animals, how long before we can shift the thinking onto babies?

I would hope that the target audience is the thinking person. Neil Gaiman wrote it for a publication to benefit PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). It is quite disturbing, and as someone who wears leather and eats meat it doesn't come across as preachy. It makes you step back and think about things. I hope it does anyway.

Tension is successfully created with the way the author writes. He puts important lines in their own paragraphs – and there are many of them.

The conflict is the human way of life. It’s not sustainable, and something needs to change. After animals, babies are the next most vulnerable. Humans see the small picture and can’t see in the end they are destroying themselves.

The plot is believable because he’s making a point, and okay, perhaps people won’t go so far as to eat babies. Nothing is resolved at the end but I don’t think it is meant to be. You’re  left on the edge – thinking. This story haunts you.


This short story is perfect for what it is, and what it was written for.