Meet The First US Citizen To Be Legally Classified As Nonbinary
Meet Jamie Shupe—legally declared neither male nor female, just HUMAN.
Jamie Shupe is neither male nor female, and for the first time in the United States, Jamie's decision is legally recognized.
The New York Times reported that on Friday, June 10, a judge in Oregon granted a petition allowing Jamie to identify as nonbinary, which is "an important development for transgender Americans while civil rights and sexual identity are in the national spotlight."
"Nonbinary," also known as "genderqueer," is a catch-all category for gender identities that are not exclusively masculine or feminine identities.
Jamie prefers to be referred to by their first name, using the plural pronouns "they" and "their." A native of Portland, Oregon, Jamie is a retired US Army sergeant. Jamie was born with male anatomy, but fought successfully to be listed as female on their military discharge papers. Jamie told The New York Times they underwent hormone replacement surgery to become a woman, but identified with nonbinary when they realized neither of the gender identities felt right.
Armed with letters from two doctors attesting that Jamie is neither male nor female, Jamie went to court, and the judge ruled in their favor.
Oregon law does not specifically limit gender choices to male or female.
In the state of Oregon, "a petitioner can submit the paperwork and pay the filing fee, and a notice of the proposed change is posted for 14 days. A judge can approve a change of sex if it is determined that the person has undergone surgical, hormonal or other treatment appropriate for them, according to the law."
According to The Daily Dot, Jamie described the ruling as, "totally being liberated from the boundaries of being male or female."
Jamie's ruling is a victory for nonbinary people everywhere.
Especially for young people like Foster Noone, a 19-year-old student at Tulane University in New Orleans and a member of the national youth council for the Transgender Law Center.
Noone told The New York Times that the ruling was "heartening news for young nonbinary people."
Noone also discussed how gender is treated in today's society.
"Gender is frequently treated as if there are two different types of bodies and two types of genders, and that's the way it's been since the beginning of time, and that's just not true," they said.
"It feels amazing to be free from a binary sex classification system that inadequately addressed who I really am, a system in which I felt confined," Jamie Shupe told CNN .
We live during a time when educating ourselves helps us become more accepting of others.
The best way to support others is by educating yourself about the proper terms people who may be different from yourself identify with.
These terms come from The Trevor Project, which is the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning people.
They're meant to help instill knowledge in those who are struggling with understanding those identities, or perhaps struggling with understanding the identity of a friend, peer or family member.
