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Oregon Judge Allows Woman To Legally Identify As Third Sex

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Casey Harper Contributor
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An Oregon judge has decided to allow a woman to change her sex from female to “non-binary.”

Jamie Shupe petitioned the court to allow her to legally rid herself of the male and female genders, and the court agreed Friday. Shupe is a retired Army sergeant first class who was born male and then transitioned to female after retiring. Now Shupe is the first person considered neither male nor female under the law, legal experts say.

“I was assigned male at birth due to biology,” Shupe told The Oregonian. “I’m stuck with that for life. My gender identity is definitely feminine. My gender identity has never been male, but I feel like I have to own up to my male biology. Being non-binary allows me to do that. I’m a mixture of both. I consider myself as a third sex.”

Oregon law says a judge “may order a legal change of sex and enter a judgment indicating the change of sex of a person if the court determines that the individual has undergone surgical, hormonal or other treatment appropriate for that individual for the purpose of gender transition and that sexual reassignment has been completed.”

Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge Amy Holmes Hehn granted Shupe’s request, likely paving the way for more of these kinds of changes.

“As far as we know, this may be the first ruling of its kind in the U.S.,” Transgender Law Center’s Legal Director Ilona Turner told the Daily Dot. “This is an important step toward ensuring that nonbinary members of our community have access to identity documents that reflect who they are, just like everyone else.”

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Tags : oregon
Casey Harper