Canada Introduces ‘X’ as a Third Sex Category for Passport Holders

Starting Thursday, Canadians will have a new way to identify
their sex on passports and other government documents: “X” will
join the options of male and female.

The decision to allow the third category, indicating an
“unspecified” sex, is intended to protect the rights of Canadians
to identify by the gender of their choice, the country’s
immigration department said in announcing the change. Ahmed Hussen,
the minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship, said in a
statement that the designation was added to advance “equality for
all Canadians regardless of gender identity or expression.”.

The move is part of a broader push to embrace nontraditional
forms of gender expression. In November, Prime Minister Justin
Trudeau appointed a special adviser to coordinate government
efforts to promote equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender individuals. A law passed in June amended the Human
Rights Act to include nondiscrimination protections for gender
identity and gender expression.

Great news: Bill C-16 has passed the Senate
– making it illegal to discriminate based on gender identity or
expression. #LoveisLove

— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) June 16, 2017

Canada is not alone. At least eight other countries offer a
third option on passports or national identification cards,
according to Lambda Legal, a nonprofit that promotes the civil
rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgender people.
Those countries are: Australia, Bangladesh, Germany, India, Malta,
Nepal, New Zealand and Pakistan. The group is suing the United
States State Department on behalf of a client who identifies as
neither male nor female and is therefore unable to accurately
complete a passport application.

Last year, a judge in Oregon granted a petition allowing Jamie
Shupe of Portland, a retired Army sergeant, to identify as neither
sex and instead be classified as nonbinary. At the time, experts
described the ruling as groundbreaking. In June, Washington, D.C.,
added a gender-neutral identifier to drivers’ licenses and
identification cards, and in July, Oregon began allowing residents
to mark their sex on driver’s licenses as “not specified.”

Culled: nytimes

Starting Thursday, Canadians will have a new way to identify
their sex on passports and other government documents: “X” will
join the options of male and female.

The decision to allow the third category, indicating an
“unspecified” sex, is intended to protect the rights of Canadians
to identify by the gender of their choice, the country’s
immigration department said in announcing the change. Ahmed Hussen,
the minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship, said in a
statement that the designation was added to advance “equality for
all Canadians regardless of gender identity or expression.”.

The move is part of a broader push to embrace nontraditional
forms of gender expression. In November, Prime Minister Justin
Trudeau appointed a special adviser to coordinate government
efforts to promote equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender individuals. A law passed in June amended the Human
Rights Act to include nondiscrimination protections for gender
identity and gender expression.

Great news: Bill C-16 has passed the Senate
– making it illegal to discriminate based on gender identity or
expression. #LoveisLove

— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) June 16, 2017

Canada is not alone. At least eight other countries offer a
third option on passports or national identification cards,
according to Lambda Legal, a nonprofit that promotes the civil
rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgender people.
Those countries are: Australia, Bangladesh, Germany, India, Malta,
Nepal, New Zealand and Pakistan. The group is suing the United
States State Department on behalf of a client who identifies as
neither male nor female and is therefore unable to accurately
complete a passport application.

Last year, a judge in Oregon granted a petition allowing Jamie
Shupe of Portland, a retired Army sergeant, to identify as neither
sex and instead be classified as nonbinary. At the time, experts
described the ruling as groundbreaking. In June, Washington, D.C.,
added a gender-neutral identifier to drivers’ licenses and
identification cards, and in July, Oregon began allowing residents
to mark their sex on driver’s licenses as “not specified.”

Culled: nytimes