Let me just start by saying that I support the rights and
value of my LGBTQ (and all the other letters) brothers, sisters, and others.
Besides feeling that someone else’s sexuality is none of my business, I also
believe that everyone should have the right to love anyone, or frankly, anything
they choose. I also support the right of any human being to determine on their
own, exactly who and what they are. Whether you’re a woman living in a man’s
body or a person who doesn’t love based on gender, you should have the same
legal rights as anyone else. That being said, when I read this morning that
Oregon passed a law allowing individuals to select a third, non-gender specific
designation on their driver’s license and state identification, I began having
some questions.
When I was growing, the average non-LGBTQ+ person was
primarily familiar with the L and the G, and perhaps the B. I suspect that many
are still limited in their understanding, but now there are a whole host of
other sexual identities in the mix. The acronym has extended to LGBTTTQQIA+… Lesbian,
Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Transsexual, Two-Spirited, Queer, Questioning,
Intersex, Asexual, Ally, with the ‘+’ denoting Pansexual, Agender, Gender
Queer, Bigender, Gender Variant, and Pangender, among others. I must admit that
I don’t really know what all these terms mean and I’m probably not alone, but I
believe that a number of these labels have little to do with romantic love and
more to do with determining on your own terms who you are on the inside when
the outside may not reflect that person.
I stand with all people in their efforts to gain equal
rights in this country. When the Supreme Court recognized gay marriage as a
legal right, I was ecstatic, but I’m not so sure that this law in Oregon makes
much sense to me.
First, I wanted to determine why gender is included on legal
identification. My understanding is that gender is just one identifier that
allows the law to match you to who you say you are, along with your social
security number, birth certificate, name, photo, address, etc. So, it does make
sense that a transgender individual should be allowed to indicate who they are
now as opposed to what sex organs they were born with. But consider this: an
asexual individual, by definition, has a lack of sexual attraction to others,
or has little to no interest in sexual activity. Asexuality may be considered a
complete lack of sexual orientation, as well as a variant of heterosexuality,
homosexuality, or bisexuality. Based on this definition, why would it be
necessary to share that information when legal identity is in question? Unlike
someone transgender who is living as a gender other than the one identified on
their birth certificate, those who are asexual do not necessarily have physical
markers of their gender identity or sexual preference.
This is where I depart from a supportive stance, which may
very well earn me the label of insensitive or uninformed…but I am who I am. I
believe that it is highly unimportant for a driver’s license to clarify gender
identity except in cases where one’s gender may be mistaken for another. In
other words, if you were born a man but are living as a woman, your legal
identity should reflect your appearance. Otherwise, I don’t think it’s anyone
else’s business, and certainly not the governments, how I define my gender or
sexual orientation.
My conclusion about any law that is created to specify any
non-appearance-impacting gender in regard to legal documents is a waste of time
and money. I understand that continuing to fight for equal rights is extremely
important. I look forward to a future where people are just people, regardless of
who they are, how they dress and who they love, but I also believe that nit-picking
is a problem. There are much bigger fish to fry and too many states that still
fight gay marriage and other legal rights. While I applaud the state of Oregon
for its commitment to supporting the LGBTQ+ community, I think this is a
perfect example of mistaking a mole hill for a mountain.
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