17
2011Right-On Down-Under
As you all know, I am a gender-traveler – not only from one gender to the other, but from one place to another.
My “home and native land” of Canada has disappointed me with its restrictive laws, which are unnecessary to any constructive purpose. I recounted my dismay with Canadian air travel laws in a recent post (click here).
By contrast, I read today that Australia has enacted new rules that allow their citizens to acquire a passport with gender designated as M, F or X (for indeterminate), with only a doctor’s letter of support. No surgery, no imminent surgery, no proof of medical condition required.
The X designation is particularly interesting and progressive, and would seem to allow someone like me to travel as either gender according to their pleasure.
It will be interesting to see how this designation fares at border crossings and security checkpoints (and bathrooms) around the world.
In backwards countries like Canada, where it is a requirement of boarding that one’s ostensible gender be determined and compared to one’s identification, what will we do?
Can we possibly ever feel safe to fly again?
gswi
I didn’t know that, and it sounds like an idea in the right direction.
I guess on international flights the airport staff will still be a bit puzzled about that ‘X’.
The funny thing about traveling is that when I want to fly from Frankfurt to Paris, I get checked as if I would be visiting a jail, who am I, what am, I, why am I, what do I carry with me…
When I travel the same route with a high-speed train (needs about the same time) nobody cares. Enter train in Frankfurt, leave train in Paris, go shopping.
Life could be so easy…
Gabriela
cdjanie
Yes, it seems the authorities are very rigorous with what has already happened, looking backward rather than looking forward. But, an attack on a train can be equally effective, so it would seem there is little sense in their approach.
Klyde
Surprisingly progressive of Australia.
Fiona Alexis
As I mentioned in my comment to one of your earlier posts, in our ‘equal rights’ legislation, your gender can be self identified. I used to carry a copy of an explanatory fact sheet around with me when I was out dressed, just in case. But I think the intention of the ‘X’ designation is to provide some intersexed people with an out. An intersexed person was interviewed on one of our news shows bascically saying they didn’t want to be designated male or female. We need a new pronoun too.