‘Gender X’ is Now An Option on NJ Birth Certificates

New Jersey is now the fourth state to have an alternative option besides male and female on birth certificates.

How does this work?

NJ birth certificates will now have a "undesignated/non-binary" option for people who do not identify as male or female.

According to the New Jersey Department of Health, the "'undesignated/ non-binary' option on birth certificates can be used for people who consider themselves 'intersex, agender, amalgagender, androgynous, bigender, demigender, genderfluid, genderqueer, neutrois, nonbinary, pangender, third sex, transsexual, Two Spirit, or otherwise unspecified'" via nj.com

Transgender activists say it is important to have this option for people to put on their birth certificates, because it reflects who they are living as every day rather than who they were assigned as at birth.

Having this option can actually make it easier for people when applying for college, applying for jobs, opening bank accounts, and even renting an apartment, because they don't have to justify why their birth-assigned gender is different than what they identify as.

This new change does not allow parents of newborns to put "undesignated/non-binary" on their child's birth certificate.

Parents and guardians of transgender children and teens under 18 can file paperwork to have this change made to their birth certificates.