Germany’s parliament has passed a law which will add a third gender to birth certificates, in a win for non-binary and intersex activists.
The blank option on forms, instituted in Germany in 2013 as a Europe-wide first, will be replaced by a “diverse” option for anyone who isn’t male or female, according to The Local Germany.
Trans citizens will also be able to change their gender and first name on birth certificates if they feel they were assigned the wrong gender at birth, though this will usually require a medical certificate.
The changes to the law, passed on Thursday (December 13) by the Bundestag, came after the highest court in the country ruled in favor of an intersex person seeking to add a third gender to official documents in November 2017.
The Federal Constitutional Court ordered that by the end of 2018, the parliament must legally recognize another gender option from birth or remove gender from documents entirely.
This overruled several lower courts who had rejected the intersex person’s case.
In August, Germany’s cabinet, led by Chancellor Angela Merkel, voted to approve plans to add the extra gender option.
In addition to Germany, Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, India, Ireland, Malta, the Netherlands, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan and Uruguay have also introduced, or are in the process of introducing, the third option on official documents.
Some states in the US have also taken this step. Washington announced that it would recognize non-binary people earlier this year, by putting ‘X’ alongside ‘M’ and ‘F’ on documents like driving licenses and birth certificates.
— J Gibbons, a non-binary Portland resident
Washington, DC, on the other side of the country from Washington state, became the first US territory to make the move last year.
Just two days after DC passed its law in June, Oregon’s law came into effect, making it the first US state to legally recognize non-binary people.
“This change in ID is a huge piece of validation for me,” J Gibbons, a non-binary, transgender Portland resident said at the time.
And in October, California followed suit—though its law will be implemented in 2019.
The movement for an extra gender option in the UK took a hit in June, when non-gendered campaigner Christie Elan-Cane lost their High Court battle for non-binary recognition.
Elan-Cane argued that passports should have an X gender category during the landmark case, calling the current process “inherently discriminatory,” but High Court judge Mr Justice Jeremy Baker refused the application.