December 2018

Germany introduces third gender: in addition to man and woman, from now on also "diverse"

Germany has legalized a "third gender" on birth certificates. This makes the country a pioneer in Europe with regard to the recognition of intersex people. In addition to "female" or "male", it is now also possible to name "diverse" on the document, according to the text that was approved by the Bundestag.

Angela Merkel's government has thus transposed a 2017 Constitutional Court decision. The highest German judge had given parliament until "end 2018" to vote on the legalization of a "third sex".

Elsewhere in Europe

Other countries in Europe such as the Netherlands or Austria have also started to recognize a third gender. In France, each person must be assigned one of two genders, male or female, within five days of birth. The Supreme Court rejected the recognition of a "neutral gender" and thus did not grant the request of a person born without a penis or vagina.

Illustratiefoto. Getty Images/iStockphoto

According to United Nations statistics, between 0.05 and 1.7 percent of the world's population is intersex.