New York City May Make Legal Sex Change Easier

It may soon become easier to
legally change one’s sex in New York City. Both the de Blasio
administration and the City Council are pushing a change that would
allow people to amend the sex listed on their birth certificate
without having undergone gender reassignment surgery. 

Under the new proposals, individuals could request the legal
change with approval from of any of a variety of health care
professionals, from psychotherapists to nurse practitioners. This
expert must simply testify that the change “more accurately
reflects the applicant’s sex” and is consistent with “contemporary
expert standards regarding gender identity.” From
The New York Times: 

Officials and advocates said the policy would be among the most
progressive for transgender rights around the country, easing a
long-established burden for many New Yorkers wading through
bureaucratic labyrinths as they seek employment, driver’s licenses
or pension benefits, among other things.

The U.S. State Department has allowed for passports to be
changed without convertive surgery since 2010. California and
Oregon have also eliminated the surgical requirement; and New
York state changed
its policy—with the exception New York City—in June. That same
month, the American Medical Association announced its support for
eliminating the surgical requirement for birth certificate sex
changes.

Opponents say that regardless of someone’s current gender
identity or genitalia, their birth certificate is a historical
document and shouldn’t be changed. But this same argument could be
used against amending birth certificates post sex-reassignment
surgery, also, and most states now allow that. (I’m not saying
that’s necessarily a good argument for it, merely that it’s not as
radical/unprecedented as some might think.) And it’s not as if the
original birth documents or records are destroyed, though they are
generally sealed. The basically administrative change simply allows
transgender individuals to navigate more easily through official
state paperwork and such.

“Your gender becomes less about your physicality and more about
how you live as a human being,” New York City Councilman Corey
Johnson said.