In a move the Australian government hopes will help remove discrimination against intersex or transgender people, the country's passports will now offer three options: male, female and indeterminate, the government said Thursday.
"This initiative is in line with the Australian Government’s commitment to remove discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation or sex and gender identity," according to the Australian Passport Office. "The policy removes unnecessary obstacles to recording a person’s preferred gender in their passport."
Those who do not identify themselves as male or female will no longer be required to check off the "M" or "F" box under gender, but instead will have the option of checking "X," according to the new passport rules.
“This amendment makes life easier and significantly reduces the administrative burden for sex and gender diverse people who want a passport that reflects their gender and physical appearance," Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd said.
The office said birth certificates or citizen certificates won't need to be altered in order to have a new passport issued. And those who identify themselves as transgender will be able to choose their preferred gender so long as it is supported by a statement from a doctor.
"Sex reassignment surgery is not a prerequisite to issue a passport in a new gender," according to the Australian Passport Office. "A letter from a medical practitioner certifying that the person has had, or is receiving, appropriate clinical treatment for gender transition to a new gender, or that they are intersex and do not identify with the sex assigned to them at birth, is acceptable."
In the past, Australian citizens had to choose either male or female, and were able to make changes to their gender on the documents only if they had sex reassignment surgery. The United States made a similar change in 2010 that dropped the surgery requisite for transgender people. The United Kingdom also allows people to check a gender other than their gender at birth. In Canada, you can make a change only if you have had sex reassignment surgery. In New Zealand the decision is made by a family court ruling.
Australia's Attorney General Robert McClelland said he hoped the change in policy will alleviate some of the frustrations for intersex and transgender people.
"Most people take for granted the ability to travel freely and without fear of discrimination,” McClelland said in a statement. "This measure will extend the same freedoms to sex and gender diverse Australians. While it’s expected this change will only affect a handful of Australians, it’s an important step in removing discrimination for sex and gender diverse people."
© 2012 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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Mankind's wicked, decieved, and evil hearts. God creates you a certain way but you don't like it or think its right, so you redefine who you really are? Wow!!!
So, i guess you walk streets without any clothing...since "god" created you naked
So all those brunettes that are now blondes are evil?
People have the free will to do anything they like. Letting a fairy tell dictate how you live your life is truly ignorant.
Why is it those who proclaim the loudest how holier-than-thou they are from everyone else are always the most hate-filled people around? You, my dear sir, have no idea on what being a true Christian is all about.
Your god also created hermaphrodites.
To "Drito": speaking of "truly ignorant", could you explain what you mean by fairy "tell"?
It's amazing how gullible and stupid atheists are. They fall for these trolls every time.
So if God created your child with a cleft palate or a hole in his/her heart you wouldn't have these issues corrected? I know parents who had children with these problems, and I can't imagine how their kids would have turned out (and in one case, even survived) if they hadn't had these issues corrected early on.
Will people with these delineations on their passports be allowed into all countries???? I would suspect that some countries wouldn't allow this... for security purposes, if they needed to find the individual in an emergency, or after a crime, wouldn't they need to know what this person would "look" like? So they knew what to look for?
You are afraid of being attacked by a feminine man dressed as a woman? Your comment is ridiculous.
Passports have photos.
I can see the good intentions they are going with this, but if passports are meant to protect international borders, don't you think by establishing this 'Gender X' could pose potential dangers. Terrorist could be able to disguise themselves or have you, to gain entry into that or any other country for that matter. Australia is one of several countries that citizens do not require a Visa to visit the USA, the UK, and so on. Anyone capable of making these passports using 'gender x' in some way to travel/gain access, whether temporary or permanent, into countries of interest, be it Al Qeada or any terrorist group. I don't know, good intentions, but could backfire.
Excuse me while I vomit
If you ever left your trailor park, you would meet real people who live in the world.
I see the real world all around me crumbling to pieces as people are so unhappy with what they were born with they have to change it. Hopefully they make gender X bathrooms. Enjoy hell all of you freaks
You see a world crumbling to pieces because you only see gender as a binary? There are bigger issues than this that will make the world crumble. My lady-dick is none of your business either, unless you want it.
It's a safe bed, Lynn, you're about 30 pounds overweight and look like you haven't taken a shower since 1984 so excuse me while I vomit.
This is just going to get those people teased and not helped :/
Even Australia has overtaken the USA in human rights.... shame on America.
Human rights? What "human right" is involved in calling yourself male or female, when your physical makeup is opposed to your belief about your gender?
If gender is intended to be an identifying factor, putting "Gender X" on a passport is useless. You may as well get rid of a gender identification altogether.
Why ask for gender in the first place?
It's just a bureacratic tic!
if you have a penis you're a man, if you have a uterus you're a woman! end of subject.
What happens when you are born with both? Happens everyday. Maybe you should learn something before making comments.
kjm: "What happens when you are born with both? Happens everyday. Maybe you should learn something before making comments."
Ah, right. You do realize that exceptions don't prove the substance of the rule, right?
Hermaphrodites are a special case. Most people are born with one set of genitals or another.
Hence, your argument falls in on itself.
nah – so you are saying that hermaphrodites should not be allowed to have passports? You are an idiot.
Sad, sad SAD world we live in.
@Rachel...No not shame on America... It's called freedom 4 a reason... we have fine human rights... Australia just decided to change things up like everyone does once in a while
duhh
Its sad I know that and im 14... -.-
Great progress! But it doesn't go far enough. What about "Martians" and "Little Green Men" ?
Chaz had an operation silly goose, its called an addadicktome.
Were you born with a handle? Yes. No.
So...this is for the people who can't figure out what's Down Under?
Best Post Ever