Birth certificate

When a baby is born, the doctor says, “It’s a boy!” or “It’s a girl!” This is called the sex assigned at birth and it is documented on the birth certificate. The doctor has the power to decide on the sex of the baby even though their gender identity is unknown.  Sometimes when the doctor can’t tell the sex of the baby, the doctor will make a decision whether the baby looks more male or female and will assign a sex to that child (intersex).  That child may even have surgery based on the doctor and parents decision.

Did you know that there are 29 different combinations of chromosomes, hormones and genitals? Do you know that surgery on intersex babies is still allowed? What happens when the baby grows up and realizes that the doctor chose wrong?

Gender is a person’s internal gender identity. This can be the same as their sex assigned at birth or different from their sex assigned at birth. When a person agrees with their sex assigned at birth, it is called cisgender. When a person disagrees with their sex assigned at birth, it is called transgender. Gender is assumed to be male or female but this is not the whole truth.

Here are some questions for you to consider. If a woman looses her breasts to cancer, does she stop being a woman? Does a man going through testicular cancer stop being a man? Gender is not about the body. It is when your heart and mind tell you that you are a woman, a man or a nonbinary person. Gender is not not based on the sex assigned at birth but a internal gender identity.

Transgender and nonbinary people have always existed. This is not a fad but it is more recently being discussed in the open. They have always been a part of society and are a vulnerable minority that need your support. They face discrimination at home, school and medical establishments regularly.