Inside Track
Court Rules Germany Must Add Third Gender Designation
Germany is set to add a third gender option for its citizens. The nation’s top court ruled November 8 that individuals born as “intersex” must have the option of registering as neither male nor female. The term has been coined to refer to those born with gender traits (including genitals or chromosomes) that supposedly defy a specific male/female designation. Presently Australia, India, New Zealand, and Nepal are among the nations recognizing “intersex” individuals on official documents.
Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court ruled that legislation must be in place by the end of 2018 that will add a third gender option. The case involved an individual registered in Germany as a female, but whose chromosome test supposedly demonstrated that she was neither sex, reported the BBC. The high court ruled in her favor after a succession of lower courts had denied her request to include “inter” or “various” as her gender identifier.
In 2013, Germany became the first European nation to allow parents of babies determined to be “intersex” to leave the gender box blank on a birth certificate. But the high court ruling now mandates that lawmakers must create a “positive gender entry” for such individuals that will be recognized on official documents and registrations.
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