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Thursday, September 15, 2011

Australia Adds Gender 'X' on Passports

Jaunted: "X" marks the spot...for a new gender choice on Australian passport applications. The change was recently made "under new guidelines to remove discrimination against transgender and intersex people," according to MSNBC and the Aussie government.

Think you'll be funny and choose "X" for yourself? Not so fast; this is serious stuff. Intersex people—those biologically not completely either sex—can choose the new option. But if you're just transgender, then be prepared to show a doctor's note to back up your identifying as such. And it'd also be wise to prepare yourself to explain the "X" under "gender" on your Aussie passport when you pass through immigration at certain countries.

That said, a move like this just inches the world ever closer to equality, kinda like when the US altered the old "mother" and "father" fields to just "parent 1" and "parent 2."

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