The Daily Beast is reporting that New York City is set to allow a gender-neutral option on birth certificates, a policy that does not appear to be thought through:
A new bill in New York City will soon allow non-binary people born in the five boroughs to obtain a gender-neutral “X” on their birth certificates.
Cleared by the City Council this Wednesday, Introduction 954-A now heads to Mayor Bill de Blasio—who announced the legislation alongside City Council Speaker Corey Johnson in June—for a formal signature.
The bill makes it easier for all transgender people born in New York City to change the sex listed on their birth certificates, but it also specifically permits an “X” option for those who identify as neither strictly male or strictly female.
Unsurprisingly, this is being hailed as a major victory for “non-binary” people, and adds New York City to a growing list of jurisdiction that are allowing the “neither” option in the gender column.
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Where this all starts to get really confusing is in hospitals and other medical facilities, where accurately identifying gender can determine treatment and where facts truly don’t care about your feelings. But even hospitals are buckling. From the New York Post:
Children’s Hospital Colorado has removed gender markers from patients’ wristbands as part of an effort to support their “unique gender identity.”
The hospital said its staff understands that it’s “not easy growing up with an expansive gender identity or expression,” and “believe[s] gender-diverse children need a stable support system as they navigate their transition.”
…While gender will be omitted from wristbands, Nokoff said patients’ medical history will still be recorded.
Well that’s a relief, I suppose.
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I don’t care about this topic much, but a Canadian sports organization has decided to ruin university athletics in order to pander to the transgender crowd—a move that will soon irreparably transform the playing field for reasons so obvious that only trans activists could be offended by them (such as the physical differences between biological males and females.) Canada’s media, of course, is dutifully cheerleading this move. From The Province:
A new policy allowing Canadian transgender student-athletes to compete on teams consistent with their gender identity and without hormone therapy is a welcome change, but more can still be done to make athletics inclusive of gender diversity, says a Vancouver trans athlete and consultant.
U Sports, which governs university athletics in Canada, put its new policy into effect Thursday and says it affects student-athletes at all 56 of its member institutions. Athletes can only compete on teams of one gender during a given academic year, and the policy doesn’t require them to undertake hormone therapy. They must also comply with the Canadian Anti-Doping Program.
“For me, it’s a step in the right direction,” said Kai Scott, a principal partner at TransFocus Consulting, which works with organizations addressing gender inclusion issues. “I think these kinds of policies are really important. This one, in particular, is great for certain transgender student-athletes in that they can select the team or division that aligns with their gender identity. These kinds of policies are important declarations of support and assurance of inclusivity.”
…Levels of testosterone, linked to muscle mass and increased strength, have been a key issue in debate over allowing trans athletes to compete in events consistent with their gender identity…Scott said he also approves of U Sports’ allowance for transgender athletes to play in a category consistent with their sex assigned at birth.
But he is critical of the policy’s absence of language to include non-binary athletes, who don’t identify as either male or female. This is a common shortcoming of policies aimed at inclusivity, he said.
Despite the fact that the squishy folks who govern university athletics in Canada have already buckled and handed the trans activists precisely what they wanted, you’ll notice that it is never enough. What about non-binary people?? comes the next demand. And of course, there’s no way of “including” people who have deluded themselves into thinking that they are neither male nor female, because there is no sports league for people who are confused about their gender—there is only male leagues and female leagues. “Non-binary” people will thus have to pick a team.
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New York state still requires a medical professional’s signature for a gender marker change on state-issued documents, including drivers’ licenses, according to a database maintained by the National Center for Transgender Equality.
New York state still requires a medical professional’s signature for a gender marker change on state-issued documents, including drivers’ licenses, according to a database maintained by the National Center for Transgender Equality.