Oregon court allows man to legally change gender to a third sex
An Oregon judge has legally changed the gender of a biological man to the third sex, or non-binary.
Army veteran Jamie Shupe is the first known person in the U.S. who petitioned to change his gender to the third sex and was allowed by the court to do so. The ruling was announced Friday, June 10 by Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge Amy Holmes Hehn.
Shupe was born a biological male but has always felt like he did not fit in as a male. In 2013, he transitioned into female, the gender he identifies with. However, he still felt like he was "stuck" with being male owing to his gender at birth, and it made him feel like he did not fit either as male or female.
He adopted the gender-neutral name "Jamie" and preferred to be addressed by that name instead of a pronoun.
"My gender identity is definitely feminine," Oregon Live quoted Shupe as saying. "My gender identity has never been male, but I feel like I have to own up to my male biology. Being non-binary allows me to do that. I'm a mixture of both. I consider myself as a third sex."
Shupe, accompanied by his legal counsel Lake Perriguey from Law Works, filed for a legal sex change as "non-binary" in April.
According to state law, the court can grant legal sex change to a person who has "undergone surgical, hormonal or other treatment appropriate for that individual for the purpose of gender transition and that sexual reassignment has been completed," and no medical certification is required, Law Works explained in a blog.
Still, Shupe brought to court documents from Oregon Health & Science University and the Veterans Affairs Hospital.
The judge's ruling states that Shupe's sexual reassignment has been completed.
"No person has shown cause why the requested General Judgment should not be granted," Hehn wrote in the ruling, according to Oregon Live.
Shupe said the ruling was "liberating."
"I'm not under pressure anymore to conform to either thing," Shupe said.
Although the case is hailed as a court victory by groups that support transgender individuals, it is just the first step, as people with "non-binary" gender still need to overcome other legal hurdles.
Nancy Haque, co-executive director for Basic Rights Oregon, said the organization is working with state officials to allow Oregon residents to enlist themselves as neither male nor female in their driver's license, state IDs and other legal documents.
"In all the ways our lives are gendered in ways they frankly don't have to be, it can be a barrier for people whose identities aren't easily put in a box," Haque said.
