Ontario will offer those who wish to be anonymous in gender terms (so to speak) the chance to mark an X on drivers licenses and health cards. It appears that those wishing to announce their sex may still do so with the time-honoured (or whatever) F and M. Ontario will also launch public consultations this summer to develop policies on how the government collects, uses and displays sex and gender information on government forms and products.
AS ALWAYS, NUMBERS MATTER
The decision seems like a sop to a small fraction of the population. The number of people who might choose X would seem to be infinitesimal. It speaks volumes that the government didn’t simply eliminate M and F and declare that everyone should be an X. Such a decision — or a sudden preference for X by ten or 20 per cent of the population — would wreak havoc on government recording keeping in everything from crime prevention to health care.
