Newest Gender Option on College Job Application Raises Some Eyebrows

When applying for a staff spot with Colorado College, you'll eventually get to the democraphic data section and be given a chance to volunteer your gender.

Among your options: Male, Female, Transgender, Not Disclosed.

All standard fare these days.

But then there's the newest option: Queer.

(Image source: WCNC-TV)

And this word has created a stir at the private school in Colorado Springs.

“I’m a little skeptical of what that could present to potential employees,” Quinn Webb told WCNC-TV in Denver.

But Rex Fuller of Denver’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, And Transgender (LGBT) Community Center offered that while "for many years lots of people were called ‘queer’ and it was a derogatory term and they find it offensive, but there’s definitely a younger generation that is trying to reform the term and give it new meaning."

One member of Colorado College's Office of Minority and International Students agreed.

“Colorado College is making an effort to be inclusive,” Marley Jamason told WCNC. “’Queer’ is an umbrella term that encompasses a whole range of identities.”

Statement From Colorado College:

As an optional part of our employment application, Colorado College includes the terms ”male,” “female,” “transgender” and “queer” for gender. This is a direct reflection of Colorado College’s commitment to create and sustain an inclusive campus community. Applicants are not required to provide this data; we request it so we can know the composition of the applicant pool and to support our efforts to be an Equal Employment Employer. The college also employs an LGBTQ specialist to provide support to students.

Here's a report from WCNC:

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