Argentine identity documents, identity card and passport, offer since Wednesday July 21 the option "
X
" to indicate the sex of the holder, until then limited to "
male
" and "
female
", a first in Latin America .
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“
The nomenclature + X + in the + sex + field” will include the following meanings: non-binary, indeterminate, unspecified, undefined, unspecified, self-perceived, not recorded;
or another meaning in which the person who does not feel included in the pair man / woman can be identified
", we can read in the presidential decree published on Wednesday in the Official Journal.
"A historic breakthrough"
President Alberto Fernandez handed over the first three identity papers bearing this new mention on Wednesday during an official ceremony at the Bicentennial Museum, near the seat of government. "
The state should not care about the sex of its citizens
"
,
said the chairman of the center-left. "
There are other identities as man and wife and they must be respected
"
,
he added. There are "a
thousand ways to love, to be loved and to be happy,
" he insisted.
The new law argues that “
the right to identity has a direct and indissoluble link with the right to non-discrimination, to health, to privacy and to the realization of one's own life project
”.
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The Argentine LGBT Federation hailed a "
historic advance in terms of rights
"
thanks to
"the
activism of associations
". "
Although the use of the + X + is not fully inclusive in recognizing the wide range of identities that exist, it is an important step on the way to real equality of rights,
" said the Federation in a
press
release. . The South American country, a pioneer in this area, had already adopted in 2010 a law recognizing same-sex marriage, then in 2012 another allowing a change of identity. As of September 2020, 1% of public jobs have been reserved for transgender people.