The Netherlands includes gender-neutral options for intersex people: "It's time to recognize this possibility"

The civil registry will offer a third option for registering intersex people. The decision stemmed from a court ruling. Now Parliament must create a law.

May 31, 2018

Illustration: Florencia Capella
Leonne was born with both male and female characteristics in 1961. But her parents decided to register her as male because, based on medical reports, they believed it would be “easier for their child.” However, Leonne always identified as female and in 2001 legally changed her gender marker. After that, and all the suffering caused by the forced gender definition at birth as intersex, she sued the state to allow a third, neutral gender option for these cases.
A court in Limburg, in the south of the Netherlands, accepted her petition and ruled that a third option, a neutral gender, should be created on official birth certificates . In their arguments, the judges stated that otherwise, this person would not have the right to “personal self-determination, autonomy, and privacy .”
Following this ruling, the Dutch Supreme Court issued a statement indicating that “ it is time to recognize the possibility of a third gender given the social and legal evolution that has taken place .” And it asked Parliament to update civil registration laws and formalize the implementation of a gender-neutral option.
This is a landmark ruling, as in 2007, in a similar case, the Supreme Court had considered that “it was not the right time.” LGBTI organizations celebrated the ruling but lamented that “it is only valid in the context of intersex people. Every Dutch person should have this option,” they said.
The Dutch Transgender Network said in a statement: “This can be considered revolutionary within the framework of Dutch family law.”
In 2013, Germany became the first country in Europe to incorporate gender-neutral options for intersex people.

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