diff --git a/flake8/util.py b/flake8/util.py
index fda6331..e4f3a01 100644
--- a/flake8/util.py
+++ b/flake8/util.py
@@ -66,3 +66,15 @@ def force_disable_jobs(styleguide):
 def flag_on(val):
     """Return true if flag is on"""
     return str(val).upper() in ('1', 'T', 'TRUE', 'ON')
+
+
+def option_normalizer(value):
+    if str(value).upper() in ('1', 'T', 'TRUE', 'ON'):
+        value = True
+    if str(value).upper() in ('0', 'F', 'FALSE', 'OFF'):
+        value = False
+
+    if isinstance(value, str):
+        value = [opt.strip() for opt in value.split(',') if opt.strip()]
+
+    return value