Parent's fight to write 'unknown gender' on baby's birth certificate
Kori Doty wants baby Searyl to choose a gender when ready
A Canadian baby could become the first in the world to have a birth certificate marked as ‘gender unknown', reports say.
Kori Doty - who identifies as a non-binary trans parent, neither male nor female (and is referred to as 'they' rather than 'he' or 'she') - has been campaigning for this since November 2016, so far unsuccessfully.
But Kori's little one, named Searyl Atli, does currently have a health card (allowing them access to medical services) marked ‘U’ for ‘undetermined’ or ‘unassigned’ gender, according to CBC.
Kori’s decision to keep the sex Searyl was assigned at birth under wraps is obviously a very personal one.
"When I was born, doctors looked at my genitals and made assumptions about who I would be,” Kori told CBC. “And those assignments followed me and followed my identification throughout my life."
"Those assumptions were incorrect, and I ended up having to do a lot of adjustments since then.”
But it’s also designed to give little Searyl the freedom to make their own decision about how they identify as they get older.
"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 recognising 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."
Many provinces in Canada do have non-binary options on official documents, according to Metro.
However, Searyl’s birthplace, British Colombia, currently does not - something Kori hopes to change.
Images: Facebook/Kori Doty, pixelating via Metro
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