United Airlines offers non-binary gender options

[Ziggy 14,250]

ok this is great, but serious question: what does this do substantively? It isn't like they have a men's section of the plane or something or gendered bathrooms lol

[Zander 14,944]

Wouldnt it make more sense to have the options as “he, she or them”?

I don’t fly often so I’m wondering why this is important to state the gender you identify as? 

[Guest]

37 minutes ago, nicolasrumet said:

What is non-binary options? So you can basically identify as anything you like? What's the point?

I mean I know transgendered people identify as the opposite of their birth sex, but what's this "other" for?

Like what other genders are there?

binary: you either identify as a man or a woman

      if your biological sex is male and you identify as male, you are cis 

      if you biological sex is male and you identify as female, you are trans 

      and vice versa of course

 

non-binary: you identify as both male and female and dismiss the idea of gender being two categories. 

---> gender as a spectrum

non-binary identifying people have their own pronouns too, but there arent really any that apply for everybody. some like to use "they", others hate that and only want people to use their first name. it depends 

 

 

 

 

[Petie Estie 5,736]

1 hour ago, Ziggy said:

ok this is great, but serious question: what does this do substantively? It isn't like they have a men's section of the plane or something or gendered bathrooms lol

yeah I think all they do is greet you sometimes and put mr/ms/mrs/mx on your ticket or whatever. 

[Guest]

34 minutes ago, Ziggy said:

ok this is great, but serious question: what does this do substantively? It isn't like they have a men's section of the plane or something or gendered bathrooms lol

its more of a gesture i believe .. 

etiquette. 

[LaLa 19,898]

Great! Costs them absolutely nothing to be inclusive. 

[dynamite 67,487]

[Petie Estie 5,736]

2 hours ago, JustAnother said:

Maybe don’t assume they’re trying to be rude? Is the idea of asking questions on a forum really that off putting? 

I mean yeah but also you'd get better information and more information if you look for it. I just felt exhausted seeing these questions that I've answered so many times & know have been answered better than I could ever answer them so many times. 

If you really wanna learn, don't be a burden on a marginalized community and make them explain it to you when there are resources out there. 

That said nobody really got annoying in this thread I was just ready for it to happen. If people wanna ask go for it. It's just good to remember self-educating yourself on issues like this is important. 

[PunkTheFunk 125,733]

2 hours ago, jared011 said:

Excuse me Mix, could I get you something? 

Excuse me Mix, there's been a mix up...your suitcase is heading to Austria instead of Australia

[Ziggy 14,250]

1 hour ago, maxmore said:

its more of a gesture i believe .. 

etiquette. 

Well that’s nice, a bit of a random change given the notoriety of their airline, but nice

[Guest]

35 minutes ago, SEANGT said:

I mean yeah but also you'd get better information and more information if you look for it. I just felt exhausted seeing these questions that I've answered so many times & know have been answered better than I could ever answer them so many times. 

If you really wanna learn, don't be a burden on a marginalized community and make them explain it to you when there are resources out there. 

That said nobody really got annoying in this thread I was just ready for it to happen. If people wanna ask go for it. It's just good to remember self-educating yourself on issues like this is important. 

i second that 

[gagzus 24,717]

2 hours ago, Ziggy said:

ok this is great, but serious question: what does this do substantively? It isn't like they have a men's section of the plane or something or gendered bathrooms lol

I think it’s probably for documentation and staff to refer to them without Male or female pronouns when they serve or assist them

[Fresco 1,688]

The ticket gender should match the identification gender when TSA checks it. So, I'm wondering if that is the issue they are trying to solve. Idk, I haven't flown United, just guessing.

[2School4Cool 6,463]

That is great, although I can see the Mx. being confusing. Still a huge step forward including non-binary options, hopefully more places will start doing the same.

[2School4Cool 6,463]

2 hours ago, Ziggy said:

ok this is great, but serious question: what does this do substantively? It isn't like they have a men's section of the plane or something or gendered bathrooms lol

 

2 hours ago, SEANGT said:

yeah I think all they do is greet you sometimes and put mr/ms/mrs/mx on your ticket or whatever. 

These are good points, and I think inclusivity is important and all gender identities should be recognized and respected, but perhaps a better idea would just be to eliminate using pronouns at all in this specific instance. It’s different than a doctor’s office or a hospital, they just put Mr. or Mrs. or Mx. on the ticket, so why not just get rid of that and just have the person’s name? I do think it would be helpful in a case or knowing how to refer to a person so they are not misgendered. I still am glad to see anyone take a step towards inclusivity, so I’m still glad to see this happen.