MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentina to start issuing gender-neutral ID cards to non-binary people

Those who do not feel themselves as either male or female will have their ID cards marked with an X

Argentine President Alberto Fernández has signed the decree and is to announce Wednesday morning the issuance of the first gender-neutral ID cards.

As per Argentina's Gender Identity Law (LIG), individuals are guaranteed the right to identify themselves as neither male nor female, but up until now, National Documents of Identity (DNIs) would show either an “M” or an “F” depending on the biological sex at birth.

Under the new decree, non-binary people -that is people who do not perceive themselves as female or male- may now adjust that requirement to their gender identity.

Argentina's Ministry of Women defines non-binary people as those who “are not represented by the same binary positions of expression of gender identity and gender expression (male or female) and highlight their dissatisfaction with them as well as with the binary gender allocation system.”

The LIG (or Law 26,743) recognizes the right of every person to the recognition of their gender identity, to the free development of their person according to it, to be treated accordingly and, especially, to “be identified in this way in the instruments that prove their identity.”

Under the norm in force since the previous Kirchnerite government, gender identity refers to the “internal and individual experience of gender as each person feels it, which may or may not correspond to the sex assigned at birth, including the personal experience of the body. This may involve the modification of bodily appearance or function through pharmacological, surgical or other means, provided that this is freely chosen. It also includes other gender expressions, such as dress, speech and manners.”

Until now, DNIs displayed a binary configuration regardless of the individual's self-perception. The presidential Decree 476/2021 published Tuesday in the Official Gazette specifies that in DNIs and “Ordinary Passports for Argentines in the field referred to 'sex' may be 'F' -Female-, 'M' - Male- or 'X' .”

The nomenclature “X” in the “sex” field will include the following meanings: non-binary, indeterminate, unspecified, undefined, not reported, self-perceived, not recorded; or any other meaning with befitting the person who does not feel included in the masculine/feminine dichotomy.

With the issuance of these first DNIs, Argentina will become the first country in the region to further recognize these rights.

Ministry of Labor authorities has already mandated that social security numbers are known as CUIL no longer reflect the person's gender, while the AFIP tax bureau is expected to follow suit shortly.