News Brief by Kanika Kamal
Germany has recently
become the first country to allow newborn babies with both sexual
traits to identify as neither male nor female. Instead, parents can
leave the gender section on birth certificates blank, thus
identifying the baby as having an “indeterminate sex,” or
intersex. In the past, parents had to immediately choose which sex
they wanted their babies to be so the babies could be registered.
This often lead to unhappiness in many children later on who were
forced to be a certain sex and now feel neither here nor there. With
this new law, parents can avoid making quick, unthoughtful decisions
that may negatively affect their child's life.
To accommodate
intersex individuals, german passports will start having the option
for gender “X,” along with M and F. It is unclear, however, how
this new law will affect German marriage laws. The IGLA-Europe, a
group for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transsexual, and intersex rights,
asserts that the law needs to be further developed in order to
address this question appropriately. Nonetheless, this step is a
major stride for Germany.
Although
Germany is the first country to pass a set legislation on this topic,
some other countries are following close behind. For example,
Australia, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Nepal, India, and Pakistan have
all begun to include a third sex option on either passports, identity
cards, or voter registrations. It is only a matter of time before
more countries follow Germany’s lead.
Reference: Germany allows 'indeterminate' gender at birth. (2013, November 1). BBC News. Retrieved November 1, 2013, from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24767225
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