# Beyond the Binary - More Inclusive Gender Options with Compose

DevFeed: [Beyond the Binary - More Inclusive Gender Options with Compose](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/beyond-the-binary-more-inclusive-gender-options-with-compose-38489.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://eevis.codes/blog/2024-09-02/beyond-the-binary-more-inclusive-gender-options-with-compose/>)

Author: Eevis Panula

Published: 2024-09-02T03:38:14.053000Z

Content type: tutorial

Language: en

Sources: [Eevis Blog](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/eevis-blog.md>)

Topics: [Jetpack Compose](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/jetpack-compose.md>), [Compose](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/compose.md>), [User Interfaces](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/user-interfaces.md>), [App](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/app.md>), [Development](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/development.md>), [Forms](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/forms.md>)

Tags: [app-development](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/app-development.md>), [article](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/article.md>), [culture](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/culture.md>), [development](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/development.md>), [forms](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/forms.md>), [gender](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/gender.md>), [how-to](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/how-to.md>), [inclusive](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/inclusive.md>), [jetpack-compose](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/jetpack-compose.md>), [user-interfaces](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/user-interfaces.md>)

## AI overview

This article explains why binary or "other" gender choices can exclude users, discusses gender and sex as distinct concepts, and demonstrates how to build a more inclusive gender selection for app settings with Jetpack Compose.

## Source excerpt

If your gender matches the one that was assigned to you at birth, you probably don't notice flaws in application design that enforce the gender binary. But if it doesn't, and especially if your gender is beyond the woman-man binary, you constantly notice user interfaces that exclude you. For example, what should you select if you aren't a man or a woman, and those are the only options in a form? In some cases, forms might include the option "other". But... It underlines that you're something other and don't even have a category. As someone who has felt their entire life like an outsider and the other in many ways, I can tell you that it doesn't do good things to your mental health. So, in this blog post, I'll discuss the concept of gender a bit and then demonstrate one way to build a more inclusive gender selection with Jetpack Compose. Finally, at the end, I'll list some resources related to this topic. Gender Beyond the Binary Let's start with the basics: Gender and sex are separate things. In some languages, like Finnish, the word for both is the same - "sukupuoli" - but, for example, English differentiates them. And neither of them is binary. Gender is a social construct, and each culture has its own norms for genders. There are multiple genders, and a person might describe themself with one or more. Some examples include woman, man, non-binary, agender, genderqueer, demigender (e.g., demigirl or demiboy), or genderfluid. If you want to learn more, I've listed some resources in the Resources-section. Asking User's Gender Gender is asked in many locations - it might be surveys, settings for an app, and many other places. I'll concentrate on app development as I write about app development, and the specific case of app settings because that's where I've seen this gender selection pop up the most frequently. Before diving into the technical implementation of more inclusive gender options, I want to discuss whether there is a need for gender data and making the sele