July 14, 2020
Going Dutch? Netherlands ID Cards Set to Lose Gender Specifications
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 1 MIN.
Residents of the Netherlands will have gender-free identity cards in five years, when a new national policy comes into effect, reports DutchNewsnl.
Some cities in the Netherlands had already dropped gender references on some legal documents, the article said, but the change at the federal level will take place as part of a larger reform of national identity cards.
Trans rights advocates hailed the upcoming change, with several organizations telling the media in a joint statement that, "It will be great news for people who time and again face problems because of the gender on their cards and who are asked unnecessary and indiscreet questions on trains or at the border."
Gender specification will still appear on Dutch passports, however, due to EU rules.
One nation that might reform gender specifications on passports, if lawmakers have their way, is Britain, where a proposal to add a third, gender-neutral option is reportedly expected to be advanced.
Britain decided to leave the European Union in a 2016 referendum, and is scheduled to depart the European economic community, or Eurozone, this coming Jan. 1.
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
