A Canadian parent is worked up because the government of British Columbia won’t issue a birth certificate that doesn’t list “their” baby as being either male or female. Because, you know, reasons.
Seriously.
A parent in B.C.’s Slocan Valley is fighting to omit their child’s sex on their birth certificate as part of a broader effort to keep gender from being included on government documents.
Kori Doty gave birth to Searyl Atli at a friend’s home last November. Doti, a non-binary trans parent who doesn’t identify as either male or female, (and prefers to use the pronoun they), wants to keep Searyl’s gender off all official records.
“I’m raising Searyl in such a way that until they have the sense of self and command of vocabulary to tell me who they are, I’m recognizing them as a baby and trying to give them all the love and support to be the most whole person that they can be outside of the restrictions that come with the boy box and the girl box,” Doty said.
Doty says the province is refusing to issue Searyl a birth certificate with no gender on it, although last month the province did acquiesce and send out the child’s health card with a “U” for gender, presumably for “undetermined” or “unassigned,” so they could access medical services.
According to Doty’s lawyer, barbara findlay (who doesn’t spell her name with capital letters), B.C. birth certificates currently only accommodate a male or female gender designation.
I had to check again to make sure this wasn’t a parody site, but it’s not. I’m pretty sure, at least.
The need to verify this was a real story is primarily because there are so many snowflake-isms at work in this one bit I’ve quoted that it almost can’t be real. An individual who insists on “they” for a pronoun, demanding a blank be left so a child can decide for itself something that is based on biology, and then the attorney who refuses to use capital letters in her name?
Seriously, this can’t be real, right?
But it seems to be.
Here are a couple of things to consider. First, if you carry a baby to term and deliver said baby, I’m going to have a hard time considering you as anything other than female. I don’t care how much you claim you’re neither male nor female, I’m not going to buy it. Having a kid is kind of a defining trait of being a woman, after all.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BQY1EB7F1pQ/
Second, having a gender listed on a birth certificate is hardly unusual. If they’re declared male or female because of their biology, and they later say they identify as the other, then there are processes in place to change that. Trans people have dealt with this for decades, and it’s hardly new ground. All Doty is trying to do here is use her kid to make a political point, which is a special kind of low.
Further, where does this all end? I identify as an M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tank. Do I need to get that on an official document? Do I need my birth certificate amended?
One has to wonder just how long this particular brand of insanity will continue.
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