California’s inclusion of a third gender is taking a huge step in promoting diversity across America. On Sunday, Oct. 15, California governor Jerry Brown signed bill SB179 to allow state residents who do not identify as male or female to choose a third gender option “X” for their birth certificates and drivers’ licenses.
Because of this signing, California, along with Oregon, will become one of the first states in the U.S. to offer the non-binary option for people who wish to use it on their documentation; however, the bill will not go into effect until 2019.
Many Democrats, such as State Senator Tony Atkins, who helped write the bill, have praised this big step, especially considering how Atkins has friends in San Diego who have been waiting for this for a long time.
“I want to thank Governor Brown for recognizing how difficult it can be for our transgender, non-binary and intersex family members, friends and neighbors when they don’t have an ID that matches their gender presentation,” Atkins said in an interview.
Kathryn Donovan, a gender-fluid early childhood education major at Delaware County Community College, was extremely proud that this bill was signed.
“I hope that other states allow it and it will make a big change in the world,” Donovan said.
Criminology professor Dr. Katie Farina was especially glad that the bill was passed, saying that this was a hard-earned win for both transgender individuals and people who do not fit in the regular gender categories. Farina considers this important because she believes it is misleading for social construction to indicate that male and female are the only genders.
“There’s nothing in our biological makeup that dictates one should prefer wearing dresses or suit jackets,” Farina said. “Not only is gender a social construction, but it’s incredibly misleading to claim that we have only two: male and female.”
From a criminology and sociology standpoint, Farina believes that there are two classes that can help educate people about the third gender, which are SOC 215: Introduction to Sociology: Race, Class and Gender and CRM 330: Class, Race, Gender and Crime.
SOC 215 is an introductory course that introduces gender as a social structure and how it impacts daily lives, whereas CRM 330 is the more advanced course.
“The class uses an intersectional approach of class, race and gender and how this affects one’s experience in both society at large and the criminal justice system as a victim or offender,” Farina said.
The director of Diversity Initiatives, Jose Rodriguez, believes that having third gender students at Cabrini will greatly improve diversity. He suggested that one way to educate people on the third gender is that they should not just assume that others identify as either a male or a female.
“I think that just starts to help educate people that there’s a lot more than just the two options that are there for students in general,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez also believes that there are individuals who are starting to feel empowered and open to expressing their authentic selves.
California’s decision to include the third gender is considered to be a big step in promoting diversity and allowing people who do not wish to identify as male or female to come out more.
“I’m happy with the new law in California, but I think there’s still much work to be done in this realm to recognize the power of the gender in our daily lives,” Farina said. “It’s naïve to suggest that we only have three options.”
