Earlier this year, a Canadian baby became the first in the world to be registered with the government as gender “unknown” and it seems like the trend is taking off around the world.
Germany’s High Court has ruled babies will no longer need to be registered as male or female on birth certificates.
If the government doesn’t pass a law which specifies a third category by the end of next year, it has to eliminate the gender category altogether.
WATCH: Kris Jenner’s shock at finding out Caitlyn changed the gender on her birth certificate.
The High Court also declared the current laws as discriminatory, deeming gender a social construct rather than something fixed from birth.
This move isn’t necessarily a shock to Germans with the country allowing parents to keep the gender box blank on birth certificates since 2013.
Intersex people, who make up an estimated 1.7 per cent of the world’s population, are officially recognised on documents in Australia, New Zealand, Nepal and the United States.
“This judgment is a very important step for intersex people in Germany. We hope it can lead to a rethink in society, to a realisation that there are more than two genders,” Maja Liebing, an expert in LGBTI rights, told CNN.
Searyl Atli was gendered “unknown” earlier this year in Canada after their non-binary transgender parent, meaning she identifies as neither male nor female, requested to have Searyl’s gender kept off any records.
“When I was born, doctors looked at my genitals and made assumptions about who I would be, and those assignments followed me and followed my identification throughout my life,” Doty continued.
“Those assumptions were incorrect, and I ended up having to do a lot of adjustments since then.”
