First officially genderless person in US

[ftw]

"The United States desperately needed a third sex classification of non-binary for all of the people such as myself that simply do not fit into the existing binary system of just male or female."

gu.com/p/4yabd/fb

I'm still mulling it over but my first two thoughts are;

1. great, they recognise they're not and never can be female
2. fuck it, why can't they just be a male who is a bit different to other males except all the other males who are exactly like them but say they're women

But, you know, peace.

I'm not convinced that this ruling is as groundbreaking and progressive as the article suggests. Won't the creation of a third sex category alongside male and female just reinforce by implication the gender stereotypes of "acceptable" behaviour? If you display feminine-gendered behaviours then you must be female, masculine-gendered behaviours then you must be male, a blend of gendered behaviours and you must be neither male nor female but a third category.

That said, I found it interesting that the writer was very clear that "living as a female" was not a cure for gender dysphoria:
As a transgender person who was forced to live as a male for nearly 50 years, and who then electively lived as a female for the following three years to alleviate my gender dysphoria, I have discovered that I am healthiest and best served by not being forcibly classified as either male or female against my will.

Everyone is healthiest and best served by not being forcibly classified by gender stereotypes against their will....

gu.com/p/4yabd/fb

Trying clicky link again.

That 'living as a female' thing again.

Surely all that really means is 'dressing as a stereotypical female' - since many females wear clothes that aren't significantly different to 'mens' (ie. jeans and t-shirt), so in order to differentiate they will have to be overtly feminine clothes. And since they have no female anatomy (so no menstruation, pregnancy etc.) they can't mean that part of being female.

Honestly, I really want some definition of living as a female that is about more than clothes, because frankly, I find that offensive.

indeed, seems like "living as female" means wearing dresses, heels, and make up. Maybe taking up baking at the weekends, taking a 20% voluntary pay cut, and giving up video games because they are not for laydees?

If you think about it, the logical people who you would expect to be complaining about being forcibly labelled as male or female and so on would be intersex people. Not someone who started off as a totally normal biological male, but then may or may not have surgically or hormonally altered themselves.

Instead what do we see that intersex people had to campaign for? For kids not to have surgery to 'normalize' their genitalia. Which is of course at odds with the standard trans line, which wants surgery/hormones/intervention as early as possible for better cosmetic results (and to steer attention away from late transitioners like Caitlin whose motivation may be autogynephila)

This is a bad joke.

For years and years, feminists fought against gender stereotypes, and now a male is granted the privilege of officially having no gender - but we women are still forced into the gender-cage?

If this shit ever swaps across the sea to Europe, I will have myself declared genderless the first day it is possible.

Everyone is healthiest and best served by not being forcibly classified by gender stereotypes against their will....

Exactly. Why do so many people not get this? It is not exactly rocket science.

Interesting that the Guardian seems to be lettting comments stand that a few weeks ago would have almost certainly been deleted.

I would hate it if I felt I had to be a 'girly girl' in a foof of pink and sparkles and dresses and high heels. Luckily for me, women before me normalised the wearing of trousers and flat shoes so I can wear WTF I like without it ever really being an issue. They fought so I could behave pretty much as I want and that I could have a career.

Men already have the right either to be stay at home parents. SAHFs are rare but not vanishingly so. It really does seem that this is all about indulging a love of head scarves and high heels. Why can't those things be encompassed in 'man'? Why can't men (or genderless people...) fight for that and normalise that?

I'm torn on this one. On the one hand, it defies logic as gender is a construct that society imposes and not something you can choose or discard. OTOH, I'd rather people declared themselves of no gender than forced themselves and others to conform to gender stereotypes - whether those of their biological sex or of the opposite one in the case of trans people.

I read this too - and feel slightly cheered by it, in that he has recognised he is uncomfortable with traditional gender role assigned to males and that he cannot solve that by fixing his body so it approximates a female body.
What I don't get is why he doesn't take this to the obvious logical conclusion that gender roles themselves are flawed.
It seems such a lot of trouble to go to in order to wear a skirt.

But which sex segregated facilities does this person expect to be able to access? Whichever ones they fancy at any given time?

I guess they are going in the right direction. Gender is just made up. If they want to be neither then good for them. It is our xx or XY chromosomes which dictates our internal and external organs that result in our sex. I am female and assume I am xx as I had a child and before that monthly periods and and a wide pelvis. These things could be hidden i suppose.
All this gender talk should be removed so we don't label anyone.
I dress androgenously and wear a little make up so I don't look dead. This is unaffected by my sex, which is great.

Well, he himself is talking about a sex classification, not a gender classification.

So, still male, I'm afraid.

Why can't it just be a simple case of "Penis = man; Vagina = woman" and then people can wear what the fuck they want, have their hair the way they want etc.

People with penis' use the male bathrooms. Go to male prisons. People with vaginas use the female bathroom and go to female prisons.

But then you're not validating their feelings that they're very special as they don't have a gender like everyone else. They shouldn't be restricted to only one gender's areas as this is erasing people who have no gender or both.