Germany Allows Newborn Genderless Babies

http://www.buzzfeed.com/rachelzarrell/germany-to-allow-newborns-to-be-registered-with-no-gender

When I saw this article pop up on my endless scrolling through BuzzFeed, I got super excited! During one of our last class discussions, we discussed the negative implications associated with identifying intersex babies as a particular gender immediately upon being born. Starting on November 1st, German parents can start identifying their newborn children as genderless, which is such a huge step for Germany!

This article touches a lot on how parents will feel much less pressure to identify their children as a specific gender, specifically for infants that lack the gender-determining anatomy to do so. Personally, I think it means so much more than this. Don't get me wrong, I think that does take away a lot of pressure from parents, making it so they do not have to pick which gender their child identifies with right from the get-go, but it means so much for the infant that it is positively impacting. Like we discussed in class, suicide rates among intersex individuals are drastically high because parents are forced to choose between their child being male or female almost immediately upon their birth.

As the end of the article mentions, however, it is necessary to note that no third gender has been created in Germany, but rather, a gender is simply not identified immediately.

So how do you guys feel about this? Think it could maybe be a turning point on how culture view intersex individuals? Or do you think kids will be even more confused not growing up with a particular "gender?" Society thrives on labels and the meanings behind them, so will not having a label in regards to gender be detrimental to these individuals? I like to think that it is going to make a gigantic difference, potentially helping to lower suicide rates, yet at the same time, I get nervous that being an intersex individual could become even more of a negative concept if it is much more out in the open. At the same time, it gives individuals the chance to grow up and see which gender they identify with even more, if they choose a particular gender at all.

I know I had a lot of conflicting thoughts in the previous paragraph, but I am curious as to what you guys think. It seems like such a phenomenal idea, but I still fear the negative feedback from a number of different people. Rome wasn't built in a day, hence, I don't know how accepting people will be of this immediately...I also don't know much about the German culture, so I would love to hear your feedback!