A person from Australia has been issued a passport with an X in the gender section, rather than F or M.
X marks the spot for intersex Alex
It appears to be the first such passport acknowledging that some people are of indeterminate gender.
Authorities in Australia initially told Alex that an M or F choice would be required because their computers couldn’t handle anything else. In the end, though, more enlightened heads prevailed and an appropriate passport was provided. One can only hope that other governments will start to follow suit.
It will be interesting to see the response in America when this issue comes up. The same groups who are worried about the “breakdown” of the family will likely be just as apoplectic about the breakdown on the sexes. After all, they will say, there was only Adam and Eve — no Alex.
One thing to notice as you read the article linked above: The author had to do some thinking outside the box in order to write the piece without once using the third person singular to refer to the subject. “Him” and “her” aren’t applicable, and “it” is definitely not appropriate. Should there be a new personal pronoun for those who are androgynous?
(found via one.point.zero)