Please help me: American

[alicethroughthelookingrose]

Hi,

For most of my adult life, I wasn’t a feminist because I didn’t think it was necessary. I thought we had already won. I was disillusioned shockingly quickly.

I have been reading the gender critical threads here, and I have so much admiration for the women brave enough to stand up to the insanity that has swept the political arena.

I live in the US. I am hoping that there are women smarter than me who are familiar with the legislation in this country (or state - NJ) who can help me with what to say.

New Jersey has added a third category to birth certificates:

Q3: What are the sex designation options available to amend a birth certificate to reflect gender identity?

1. Male (M)
2. Female (F)
3. Undesignated/Non-binary

Q4: What does “Undesignated/Non-binary” mean?
“Undesignated/Non-binary” encompasses all gender identities that are not exclusively male or female, including, but not limited to: intersex, agender, amalgagender, androgynous, bigender, demigender, genderfluid, genderqueer, neutrois, nonbinary, pangender, third sex, transsexual, Two Spirit, or otherwise unspecified.

My main concern is that gender and sex are being conflated. Gender has no place on a birth certificate, sex does.

I’m hoping someone familiar with American case law can help me write an email (to the address below, and whatever others I can find)

Q12: I have more questions, who can I contact?
• Email: You may email additional questions to [email protected] (please indicate “Sex Designation Amendment” in subject line).
• NJ Office of Vital Statistics and Registry: 609-292-4087 or 866-649-8726 (toll-free nationwide). NOTE: This “FAQ” document will be revised periodically to reflect questions received over time.

This is crazy:
www.state.nj.us/health/vital/documents/Vital_Records_FAQ_transgender.pdf

Hi! Fellow American here - there are a few of us on MN. I would be happy to help with your project. I'm working on a project as well - drafting letters to '20 Dem candidates, would you like to get involved with that?

Hi StopThePlanet! Yes, I would! How can I help?

Google Joan McAlpines wonderful series of tweets setting out why the sex question on the Scottish census should remain binary. She’s a Member of
the Scottish Parliament and headed the committee who looked at the question and voted by a large majority to keep the question binary. The arguments are set out in such a clear and logical way, backed by evidence, it’s impossible to disagree.

Q3: What are the sex designation options available to amend a birth certificate to reflect gender identity?

God is this silly.

(Sorry, can't help with US case law but couldn't help commenting).

Hi alice. Fellow American here. Welcome!

Unfortunately writing to the Records office will be an exercise in futility. They don't make the policy; they only carry it out. The best people to write would have been your state representative and senator at the time they were considering this legislation:

www.nj.com/news/2019/02/male-female-nj-just-added-a-third-gender-option-to-its-birth-certificates.html

Now that it has become law, it will take either lawsuits by people with standing (i.e. directly affected in some way) or lots of public pressure on legislators to get the law repealed or changed.

One useful thing you can do right now to do is to write to your U.S. Representative and Senator, as the House is currently considering the so-called "Equality Act" which would enshrine gender identity as a protected civil rights class in federal law. This would be a disaster for the sex-based protections of American women and girls. (The Act also protects sexual orientation, as it should, so be sure to specify that you oppose the "gender identity" language in the bill, not the sexual orientation protections.)

Thanks everyone. I appreciate it.

Can’t help but just wanted to confirm that feminism has no international boundaries, and that while national laws differ, we are all in this together.

Thanks to @MNHQ for hosting us.

Hey Alice

I have to do my volunteer shifts today and tomorrow so I won't be around MN much (a little here and there) until Monday. I'll reach out then as I think we have a lot to talk about and I don't want to leave you hanging.

I wonder if it might be worth you contacting prominent American women to ask their stance / request their support? (Brit butting out now!)

We should ask every candidate to provide their definition of “woman.”

Just some Debbie Downer moaning to add.

I lived in the US for dog's years. From what I can see, the lone voices standing up for sex-based laws are almost in a class with flat-earthers for all the hearing they get.

I think it was Jane Clare Jones who pointed out that conflating sex and gender also trashes gay rights. The US being the growingly benighted backwater that it's become, you'll probably get further pointing out transing slides effortlessly into forced conversion for gays. Exhibit A: In Iran (and for that matter in Rick Santorum's head!) changing gender is A-OK, but being gay requires flogging or death or whichever barbarism it was.