New York City votes to allow third gender option on birth certificates
Under new legislation that passed on Wednesday, New York City will give residents the option of choosing a third gender, “X,” on their birth certificates, the Guardian reports.
The revolutionary bill is designed to give adults who don’t identify as male or female the choice to choose a nonbinary option.
Effective Jan. 1, the legislation will also enable transgender residents to change the gender on their birth certificate from female to male or vice versa without a doctor’s written statement.
The “X” option can also be used by parents with intersex children.
“There are plenty of New Yorkers who don’t identify as either male or female,” New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson told the Guardian. “Gender is a spectrum for many folks. It’s not a fixed thing.
“When you don’t have something as basic and essential as a birth certificate that identifies you as who you really are, it’s a problem.”
News of the city’s decision follows hot on the heels of similar legislation in California and Washington state, which have also officially recognized people’s nonbinary identity through birth certificates in recent months.
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