Argentina allows identity documents with undefined gender: now there is the “X” option

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – “There are identities other than male and female, and they must be respected,” said Argentina’s President Alberto Fernández.

Argentina’s identity card now includes the “X” option in defining an applicant’s gender. This comes from a presidential decree that puts the South American country at the forefront of Latin America in this area.

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The norm justifies the possibility of including a third option to secure the right to gender identity, which has been provided for by law since 2012.

“‘X’ in the field ‘gender’ will include the following meanings: non-binary, indeterminate, unspecified, undefined, uninformed, self-perceived, unassigned; or any other meaning that could identify the person who does not feel included in the male/female binomial,” states the decree published in the Official Gazette.

President Alberto Fernández handed over the first three documents under the new IDs Wednesday during a ceremony at the Bicentennial Museum, adjacent to the Government Building.

“The state should not care about the gender of its citizens,” the president said, celebrating the fact that there are “a thousand ways to love, be loved, and be happy.”

The law provides that “the right to identity is directly and inextricably linked to the right to freedom from discrimination, to health, to privacy, and the realization of one’s life plan.”

“There are identities other than male and female, and they must be respected,” the president said.

The Argentine LGBT Federation celebrated what it defined as “historic progress in terms of rights” thanks to the “activism of organizations.”

“Even if the use of the ‘X’ does not represent a full recognition of the wide range of identities that exist, it is an important step towards real equality,” the federation said in a statement.

In this sense, it considered that “the best way is to recognize one right and not lose others until there is a more profound change at the global level.”

For his part, President Fernández considered that “the sanctioning of equal marriage was the beginning of this whole path toward diversity,” recalling the law that has been in force since 2010.

Argentina also recently passed a law that establishes a transgender employment quota in the national public administration.

The designation “x” in the field for gender will appear on the identity card and passport.

With this change, Argentina joins other countries such as Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.