Nonbinary: now a legal gender in the United States

US Court Allows a Person to Choose Neither Sex

On June 10, 2016, a Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge for the State of Oregon granted Jamie Shupe’s petition to change the legal sex/gender marker from female to nonbinary. This is understood to be the first order from a United States state court to recognize “non-binary” as a legal gender/sex identifier as part of a legal sex change procedure.

Oregon Court Allows a Person to Choose Neither Sex, nytimes, JUNE 13, 2016.

Oregon law does not specifically limit gender choices to male or female. Instead, the law allows a judge to order a legal change of sex and enter a judgment indicating the change of sex of a person if the court determines that the individual has undergone surgical, hormonal or other treatment appropriate for that individual for the purpose of gender transition and that sexual reassignment has been completed.

Other countries already federally recognize genders other than male and female—including Australia, Denmark, Nepal, and New Zealand.

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