The world is shifting from being so conservative and traditional to that of being open-minded and welcoming change. Countries such as Australia, Denmark, Germany, Malta, New Zealand and Pakistan have opened the world to gender equality through identifying “X” gender on passports of their citizens.
Now, Canada has joined the group. The first country in the American continent.
Canadians are now seen as gender neutral on their passports under changes that are welcomed by rights and change campaigners.
In a statement announcing the changes, Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen said, “All Canadians should feel safe to be themselves, live according to their gender identity and express their gender as they choose.” He added, “By introducing an ‘X’ gender designation in our government-issued documents, we are taking an important step towards advancing equality for all Canadians regardless of gender identity of expression.”
At the moment, disclosing the gender is mandatory on all travel documents under the International Civil Aviation Organization standard rules.
However, Helen Kennedy, executive director of Egale, a Canadian organization that promotes LGBT human rights questions the necessity of gender markers on passports in the first place.
Kennedy acknowledges that Canada is taking an important and positive first step by acknowledging the challenges faced by non-binary, intersex and trans individuals.
She stressed, “Many people will benefit from having the option of choosing ‘X’ as their gender when they go file for their passport. However, it is not the ultimate solution and the addition of a gender-neutral option, as Canada is implementing it, does not address many of the underlying issues faced by these folks.”
But to her, the more important thing to successfully increase the safety of the LGBT community is that Canada to lobby internationally to remove gender markers on passports, as well as break down existing barriers that are preventing access to gender autonomy in Canada.
Meanwhile, despite the LGBT community’s victory, conservatives are outraged and scoffs at the idea claiming that the move further enhances the false ideology of “gender fluidity”.
Senior political strategist of Campaign Life Coalition, Jack Fonseca believes that the move was harmful. He said, “The government trying to force its citizenry, en masse, to deny scientific fact and biological reality.”
He claims that it’s harmful and dangerous for children who are “at risk of sexual confusion by the further societal normalization” of transgenderism. He told the LifeSiteNews in an email, “Canadians are harmed by unwittingly but systematically being trained to deny the evidence of their own eyes.” Further, he said it will hurt people suffering with the mental illness of gender dysphoria by corroborating the illusion they can alter their sex.
Whether or not gender identification is necessary in official travel documents, we human should always be mindful of each other’s well-being. It may be harmful and dangerous to some but at the same time it is liberating for others. In these confusing times, I believe it is more important to be aware of one’s own identity and be understanding of each other’s choices.