White house gender petition

[stickygirl]

Ok so if there's a good reason why, politically, this is a bad idea then I'm sure someone will mention it. In the meantime I think people in the USA need better choices.

Legally Recognize Non-Binary Genders

Legal documents in the United States only recognize "male" and "female" as genders, leaving anyone who does not identify as one of these two genders with no option. Australia and New Zealand both allow an X in place of an M or an F on passports for this purpose and the UK recognizes 'Mx' (pronounced as Mix or sometimes Mux) as a gender-neutral title.

This petition asks the Obama Administration to legally recognize genders outside of the male-female binary (such as agender, pangender, genderfluid, and others) and provide an option for these genders on all legal documents and records.
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/legally-recognize-non-binary-genders/j5KvDVvh

 

[Bramblethorn]

The Australian rules are a bit confusing, but as far as I can tell the "X" is only available to intersex people. The section on transgender scenarios seems to be assuming binary identification, so I'm not sure a genderqueer/etc person would qualify for an "X". Still, good as far as it goes.

The intersex commentators I follow have emphasised the importance of keeping any "third gender" marker optional, since some intersex people would prefer not to be easily identifiable as such for reasons of safety etc.

 

[stickygirl]

Unless the authorities want people to lie on their paperwork then options should be there, but since only the authorities would see the application what could we possibly have to fear....

 

[haurni]

Unless the authorities want people to lie on their paperwork then options should be there, but since only the authorities would see the application what could we possibly have to fear....

One issue that affects trans people in the US is the Social Security gender non-match. Adding a third option would likely produce the same hassle for people choosing it.

 

[stickygirl]

Ho-hum… So we do nothing? Why does everything have to be so binary?! Human thinking is so self restricting: thank god for art and physics… I'm probably having a moment *shouts at sky*

 

[haurni]

I certainly don't think it's a bad idea. If the US would relax a bit and at least allow trans people to change their gender on ID without requiring SRS, and/or if they'd allow intersex people to pick option 'X' in the gender box, that would be a good thing. Current policies and attitudes are likely to cause problems for those brave (or desperate) souls who are at the forefront of social change (as is usually the case), is all I'm sayin'. It kind of forces you to be an activist, whether you want to or not.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Now that I'm not trying to post from a tiny phone screen...

Unless the authorities want people to lie on their paperwork then options should be there, but since only the authorities would see the application what could we possibly have to fear....

I wasn't thinking so much of problems with the issuing authorities, but with others who might see the paperwork - there are places where a non-binary identifier on the passport might be a dangerous thing.

Haumi makes a good point about non-match issues; I don't think all Australian government departments are up to speed with the new rules here, largely because binary gender assumptions are written into so many administrative systems and it's not trivial to reprogram them.

I'm all in favour of expanding the options so that individuals can make an informed choice, but I think people are going to have to weigh the pros and cons for themselves. Unfortunately there's not likely to be a perfect option until transphobia is gone from society, which might take a while :-/

If it extends to birth certificates, there's also the question of how to classify people who are not yet able to make those decisions for themselves. OII Australia (intersex advocacy group) is of the opinion that applying "third gender"/"non-specified" options to infants is likely to be more harmful than picking a binary option and raising them accordingly until they can decide whether something else would fit better. (But without surgically "correcting" intersex traits!)

http://oii.org.au/23183/germany-third-gender-birth-certificates/

 

[stickygirl]

I wasn't thinking so much of problems with the issuing authorities, but with others who might see the paperwork - there are places where a non-binary identifier on the passport might be a dangerous thing.

Haumi makes a good point about non-match issues; I don't think all Australian government departments are up to speed with the new rules here, largely because binary gender assumptions are written into so many administrative systems and it's not trivial to reprogram them.

I'm all in favour of expanding the options so that individuals can make an informed choice, but I think people are going to have to weigh the pros and cons for themselves. Unfortunately there's not likely to be a perfect option until transphobia is gone from society, which might take a while :-/

Yea, I know, I know *sigh* I'm so lucky to be in the UK. I have a trans friend in France who decided not to vote the other day because her ID Card hasn't yet been updated and she didn't want to out herself to some local poll-station gossips...

If it extends to birth certificates, there's also the question of how to classify people who are not yet able to make those decisions for themselves. OII Australia (intersex advocacy group) is of the opinion that applying "third gender"/"non-specified" options to infants is likely to be more harmful than picking a binary option and raising them accordingly until they can decide whether something else would fit better. (But without surgically "correcting" intersex traits!)

http://oii.org.au/23183/germany-third-gender-birth-certificates/

Hmm.. I seem to recall the a number of indigenous American tribes didn't assign a sex to children until they were three or four years old. How smart is that?! Progress huh...