When I realized I was gender neutral (non-binary), I stated noticing that there was not a gender option available for me to pick on formal documents. The only available choices were F (female) or M (male). I will. never forget the feeling a got when a friend of mine shared an article about Oregon offering a X gender marker on state identification cards. I thought, “YES, maybe this will happen across the entire USA like with gay marriage.” Just to give you a little history on gay marriage it took 40 years before it became federal law. https://guides.ll.georgetown.edu/c.php?g=592919&p=4182201
If X gender marker availability takes as long it might not happen in my lifetime, because that would be in 2060. At this moment in time there are 21 states across the USA that offer a gender X marker on some form of identification. In February of this year, California Rep. Ro Khanna introduced a bill to add an unspecified gender neutral option ”X” on U.S passports. Back in 2016 Lambda Legal took up a court case for Dana Zzyym, an intersex individual who identifies as non-binary. They were denied a passport for not selecting M (male) or F (female), because they didn’t identify with either of those. In May, of this year, the U.S Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ordered the State Department to reconsider Dana’s application anew. With all these things happening the wheels have started moving.
I‘m not intersex like Dana, but I do identify as non-binary. I don’t have a passport and I’m not sure if I would have done exactly what Dana did. I’m not in there shoes. However, I do know that if given the “X” option I would definitely choose it. I have started writing non-binary on forms at doctor’s offices and stuff like that. But I don’t think I would have the courage to do so on a federal document. Without people like Dana, we will never get to the place where ”X” is an option on every state and federal identification form.
As a side note, in August of 2019 the governor of Illinois signed HB3534 mandating gender neutral “X” designations be added to all state forms. The Secretary of State has indicated this may not be available on driver’s license until 2024
I have included some links in this blog is you wanna read about Dana and also see what states offer what in way of gender “X”.
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