What Gender Neutral IDs Could Mean — For Canada and For the Future
By: Susann Shin
Canada is introducing gender neutral identification cards. In Ontario, a Canadian province including the capital Ottawa, health cards are being issued that no longer display information on a person’s sex. This is significant because it ties into the idea that gender is a social construct. Gender is not a natural process but rather a way for us as society to sort information and interpret the people around us. Canadian legislators are showing us that gender can mean a lot more than just what may or may not be listed on a card. And starting in early 2017, drivers will be able to select X, instead of M for male or F for female, on their licenses. The recent liberal government, under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, has also been considering gender neutral passports for over a year.
Marcella Daye, the acting manager of policy at the Canadian Human Rights Commission, says that “having gender-neutral identity documents such like passports is the number one issue transgender Canadians have raised in recent consultations with the commission,” according to an article from Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). The particular appeal of passports comes from travelers who have been blocked from getting on a flight because they don’t look like the gender listed on their passport. This can also lead to harassment of folks who do not conform to the gender binary.
According to CBC, “Daye said the longer the government waits to move to gender-neutral identity documents, the longer it exposes transgender Canadians and other members of the LGBTQ2 community to potential problems or danger.”
The idea of gender neutral steps away from the gender binary of male and female to create a space where individuals are free and open to explore their own gender identity. It has become popular for new parents to raise their kids as gender neutral. Traditionally girls may be given pink clothes and Barbie dolls while boys are given blue clothes and Legos. This attaches gender to the child from birth, limiting the child to what is socially expected for them to like or for how they should behave, based on their gender stereotypes.
But with the practice of raising kids gender neutral, babies may be given more options than just pink and blue clothes, and even the choice to pick what toys they want to play with. This could mean a child is interested in playing sports and playing dress up. The goal of raising a kid gender neutral is not to push them into participating in activities or behaviors of another gender. The goal is also not to confuse the child about their identity. In fact it is the exact opposite. It is to allow the child the freedom to choose what their gender means to them and how they express it. Raising a child gender neutral gives them the power to develop their own identity, rather than being limited to the sex they were born with.
So what is all this fuss about gender neutral leading to? Gender neutral bathrooms got a lot of attention in North Carolina but why does it matter? Well, it’s not just bathrooms but actually a lot of facilities that are gender segregated; locker rooms, shelters, drug treatment facilities, prisons, and jails. Separating these facilities by gender makes it harder for everyone to have equal access to them. And especially for trans or gender nonconforming folks, sex segregated spaces like these also come with the fear of violence or harassment against their gender expression. The push for gender neutral practices is to allow everyone to live a fair and equal life without being limited by the way they choose to express their gender.
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