Changing our Gender System
When Plexstorm first launched on March 21st. 2018, the gender system was flawed; we’ve since received a lot of feedback from our Trans and Non-Binary users and other concerned parties. We listened and in response, we’ve modified our gender system.
The Concerns:
1) Since Plexstorm allows adult content, the existence of a Trans category is essentially fetishizing our Transgender users.
2) Being forced into a Trans category is inconsiderate of those who do not wish to use Trans as an identifier, making them feel like their identity is invalid and unimportant to us.
3) Being forced into picking Male or Female, can be a great cause of distress for an individual who identifies as Non-Binary; again, this can make people feel like their identity is unimportant/invalid.
The Changes:
To address these concerns, we have remodelled our gender system to respect, reflect and support the diversity of our streamers.
Change #1
We have removed the Trans category. Trans people can now be listed under their identifying gender.
Change #2
Trans people may now toggle, a completely optional, Trans identifier tag to appear on their profile.
Change #3
We have added a Non-Binary gender option/category.
The Reasons:
Fetishization
Some Trans people do fetishize their Trans identity, and that’s okay. If they choose to do this, all the power to them but it should be their choice to do so, not ours. By letting our streamers choose whether or not they wish to be identified as Trans on Plexstorm, we hope to eliminate any undesired fetishization of Trans people.
Freedom of Identity
The last thing we want for any of our streamers is for them to feel invalidated. We understand that being Trans means different things to different individuals. Some embrace using the label as an identifier; some wish for the label to completely disappear, as they identify as male or female and reasonably resent not being able to identify solely with that gender.
This is why we feel it’s immensely important to allow Trans people to choose for themselves, whether or not they want to use the Trans identifier on Plexstorm.
Gender Spectrum
Have you ever heard the phrase, “Gender is a Spectrum”? Whether or not you believe in this is up to you, the fact of the matter is, many people identify as Non-Binary; which is when a person identifies as neither male or female or a bit of both. We respect this and wish to honour their identities.
By adding Non-Binary to our gender options, we aim to show our respect and validation to those with this identity.
At Plexstorm, we want to encourage and celebrate diversity, not contribute to adversity. We hope the remodelled gender system allows our streamers to represent themselves and their identities with more freedom and fewer restrictions.
Our community is our core, our heart; it is with your suggestions and feedback that Plexstorm with continues to grow and improve. As always, we thank all of our users for being a part of and supporting Plexstorm.
