Define Gender in the profile more accurately

[OxfordComa]

Please include "Non Binary/Gender Queer" in your profile gender options.

Gender is not binary (biological sex or identity) and only offering "Female" or "Male" options alienates and invalidates part of your customer base (me included). Using biology to define gender as only male or female also excludes trans people. 

Here is a great resource for better understanding gender: https://www.genderspectrum.org/quick-links/understanding-gender/. Your information is outdated at best but can be yet another way NB/GQ people are marginalized by institutions and companies. We exist! 

I would also like to include that you should perhaps do some company wide training on how to engage with GQ/NB/Trans customers, because telling us that it's just biology is as mentioned, inaccurate and very alienating. It's pride month. Please do better.

[Sdr80]

I am a mother to a non binary child. It is unacceptable that we had to choose girl or boy. Add the 3rd option. 
We would have liked to be able to select “/“ in the screen that said “girl / boy”.

for all you biology and data weirdos- they are a biological girl and selected boy. So I guess we will just mess up your system until you change it.

[mit_rekab]

Please be tolerant of us that identify as Data lovers, caling us Weirdos is not constructive. 

[veritablySloth]

I have to agree. Not simply as a trans person, but for those in the comments stating that people can be "biologically" male or female.

I'm nonbinary. I menstruate, all that jazz, the whole package. However, even for weight and biology tracking purchases, here's the thing: Many transgender individuals—not all, but many—go on to request hormone therapy or other transition resources once they've hit the age of majority.

Scientifically speaking—no, not based on my own comfort, but scientifically speaking—testosterone and estrogen cause marked changes to the body. While hormone alterations that correctly match brain function and makeup do wonders for transgender mental health, the big, Fitbit-relevant detail is muscular and anatomical changes.

Example: A transgender man assigned female at birth. Suppose he (or I, also AFAB) starts off with what people oft consider a "biological" female body. He then proceeds to take testosterone, known to affect muscle mass and fat distribution to match that of the average cisgender man. What then? If sex cannot be altered to reflect a sex change or hormone therapy of any sort, would this not impact the accuracy of collected fitness data?

Trans folk aside, this reduces accessibility to users born with some (but not all) sex hormone-related imbalances. Statistics-wise, there's an intersex person for each redhead out there.

Sex vs. gender discussion and my nonbinary status aside, hormone therapy and other medical transitions can and will impact fitness data, and expecting someone to remake their account and lose year's worth of data is just rude no matter who you are.

[zombieesther]

I totally support this improvement and can’t believe we’re in 2020 and it hasn’t happened yet. They could easily give options such as ‘non-binary’, ‘other’ and ‘prefer not to say’ and provide the caveat that some data may be impacted by these choices. It is very alienating to only see the options of male/female in Fitbit when the world itself is far less binary than this. 

[maxi-boi]

Thanks for suggesting this.

The strict distinction between male and female is cultural, some people are born intersex, some people take hormones, etc. Of course there are differences, but it's a myth that there are simply two categories, so for the sake of data and personalized tracking, it's not accurate to view it like that. It may be simpler, but not accurate. 

Then there's gender identity; regardless of whether it's relevant for the app to know one's gender identity, it does matter to people, and it's important to consider people, the users. Not everyone has issues with this, but it does suck for a lot of people having to choose between male/female. It's important to include minorities and be conscious to not marginalize those people. I'm having to choose less and less often between the two as people become more aware and considerate of these issues, and I hope Fitbit follows the path of inclusion as well. I understand it takes time to make such changes, it's not always as simple as adding a new field on a printed form, which is why it's important to get this stuff going, the sooner the better. 

[Raevynn14]

As many have said here, there are variances between someone's sex and their actual levels, as well as their gender. I selected female because my body is estrogen dominant, but now my icon is a figure in a pink skirt? It makes me not want to engage with the apps because it's genuinly disturbing to be presented as such in a fitness tracker. 

Options:

Assigned at birth? (M/F)

Are you currently taking hormones? (T/E)

Gender? (M/F/X)

[chels87]

To the Fitbit designers - I just signed up on the Fitbit app and was extremely disappointed to see that in 2020 the only gender options are male or female. I was further disappointed to see that your users have been calling for this change for more than 2 years. Why are you actively choosing to not include all members of the community? As a cisgender woman I feel it's important to speak up and let you know that your app feels discriminatory and not 100% inclusive. I agree with the above user that said: "They could easily give options such as ‘non-binary’, ‘other’ and ‘prefer not to say’ and provide the caveat that some data may be impacted by these choices. It is very alienating to only see the options of male/female in Fitbit when the world itself is far less binary than this."

Please make this change and demonstrate to Fitbit users that this product is for everyone and is in alignment with your "Who We Are" statement online that reads: "We believe you're more likely to reach your goals if you're encouraged to have fun, smile, and feel empowered along the way." It's important not just to feel empowered but also included.  

[Karida]

There are more than two genders in the world. Please expand the gender choices in profile set-up to include non-binary/queer or at least "other".

[annemckinn]

Gender choices for Fitbit profiles are currently just male or female. Please add a nonbinary or "other" option.

[LizzyFitbit]

Hi @Karida. Thanks for sharing this suggestion about having more gender options to choose from in the Fitbit profile with us. This idea was already requested in the Feature Suggestions board, so I’ve moved your post here. This will help us to keep the forums organized. Click on the thumbs-up to show your support and continue adding your suggestions.

[LizzyFitbit]

Hi @annemckinn. Thanks for taking the time to share this suggestion about having other gender options in the Fitbit profile with us. This idea was already requested in the Feature Suggestions board, so I’ve moved your post here. That way we can keep this board organized, in addition to clearly understanding which idea other members are voting for. Don’t forget to click on the thumbs-up to show your support.

[star82]

Why is this still being debated 2 years later. Come on FitBit and fix your system!

There have been SEVERAL very good suggestions on how to handle this so that folks can 1) get better biometric feedback and 2) NOT be marginalized!

[ceec]

Just got a Fitbit and it was unfortunate that my first immediate impression was of disappointment when having to choose between male and female. This is an extremely important issue for many people and it is unacceptable that such a simple change — at minimum, allowing users to set their gender identity separate from sex assigned at birth — has STILL not been implemented .

[Cassian]

So, it's been a couple of years since someone from Fitbit said it was a good idea and then ignored us forever.

In UK law this is against GDPR (which requires data held about us to be accurate) and the Equality Act 2010 (which prohibits discrimination against us under the protected characteristic of gender reassignment).

Unfortunately, it may require someone to take Fitbit to court. If anyone has the energy I would recommend starting with taking this issue to the Information Commissioner's Office in the UK, who deal with GDPR breaches - they've supported me in several matters like this in the past, but I can't handle it right now because my energy is tied up in other projects. (Nonbinary people aren't able to order coronavirus tests in the UK because they have a required binary gender question on the test order form online and over the phone!)

[n_ha]

I just got my Fitbit and was greatly disappointed that I was made to pick a binary gender when creating my account - a simple 'not specified' section would suffice, and if it is for calculating hormones etc., make that a part of your advance settings or a segment that's necessary to complete registration but doesn't impede users from getting started with small things like logging steps and water.

As someone AFAB who naturally has more testosterone in my body than estrogen, should I have picked male instead, following the explanation that this data is collected to monitor the calories burned? The idea of it being based on your biology is at the surface a bad take on both a social and data collecting front, as instead of a gender designation, if knowing how a persons body burns calories is that important, make it a staple of your registration process - just ask, what are your hormone levels like. This not only covers those who do not exist within the 'gender = biology' relation but those who might have endocrine disorders. It also helps explain to users why this information needs to be collected. If the person doesn't know, give users the option to be able to change their gender. Someone who is a transwoman gets a fitbit, selects 'woman' because that is who they are, and then gets inaccurate (if not on hormone treatment) calorie ratings because it was not explained that the select sex segment was meant for hormone burning calculations. 

Either explain outright why this data is needed so users can make an informed choice, or change it to hormone selection. It's just that simple. 

[J_the_gay]

Maybe if they add an ”other” option, the person could decide whether or not they want the period tracker. Then afab trans people can have the period tracker with the satisfaction of knowing they didn't have to put female! Great idea by the way

[J_the_gay]

And besides, that totally leaves out intersex people, of we're talking about biological sex.

[meeeep]

Spoiler

it'll be good maybe to have a sex option (for menstruation or not) and also have a gender option for pronouns and other things. also calling menstruation female health  and showing picture of other women in the menstruation section isn't very inclusive. 

[PJThePrinxess]

I would like it to include Male, Female, Non-binary, Agender, Bigender, Etc...

[LizzyFitbit]

Hi @PJThePrinxess, thanks for sharing this suggestion about including gender options in the Fitbit profile. This idea was already requested in the Feature Suggestions board, so I’ve moved your post here. This will help us to keep the forums organized and make sure the suggestions don't get confused, or split a popular vote. Click on the thumbs-up to show your support.

[Shaquan]

👍--
Sharon Dugan

[ChVe]

Marked as reviewed three years ago. Could we see this implemented already? It takes away nothing from anybody and means a lot to some of us.

[Turtleguy]

There should be a way in the fitbit app to separate assigned sex from gender identity, such that birth sex is used for private health information but gender identity is displayed publicly.

[YojanaFitbit]

Hi @Turtleguy, thanks for explaining why you would like to have the option to define your gender in the profile for more accurate information. I've moved it into a similar request. I think that a lot of users would like to have this option on their Fitbit devices.You can learn more about how Fitbit decides what suggestions get released in our FAQs.

Thank you again for your participation in the Feature Suggestions Forums.

[angstygoblin]

Thank you so much for this suggestion. As a non-binary person, I would really appreciate if Fitbit added non-binary and gender queer to the list of options. It would also be helpful if they were more inclusive when it comes to menstrual health. Not all women have periods and not all people with periods are women.