If they're going to do that, then why even put gender on the birth certificate in the first place? Why should "none of the above" be a gender option at birth? If that's the case, just do away with identifying gender altogether and be done with it.
The gender at birth is physically obvious and should not be a decision the parents can make; if the parents can decide the gender, what's to stop them from deciding that a male is actually a female or vice versa?
How a person perceives themselves over time is not obvious and may change. The problems occur when the individual decides to change their gender. If you've got a "non-binary" who defines himself as a male in order to get a license, and then several years later decides he's really a female, doesn't he face the same problems?
The solution is not pretending they never had a gender, but dealing with the discrimination they face in trying to transition at any stage of life. That takes education and understanding on the part of those who are opposed to the idea of changing gender, and I think that's going to take years. But there's hope - twenty years ago, who thought that same-sex marriage would ever be a thing? |
