Colorado has become the first state to issue an intersex birth certificate to a person that is medically accurate. Previously, just New York City had done so. Anunnaki Ray Marquez is now the proud new owner of their own identity on record.
Marquez identifies as a gender non-conforming androgynous gay man. What this means, essentially, is that they have an assortment of hormones, chromosomes, and secondary sex characteristics that can’t be categorized by the two binary sexes once only available on birth certificates.
In order to obtain their corrected birth certificate, Marquez had to petition the state government and provide numerous medical documents for verification. Once confirmed by the Colorado state government, Marquez’s birth certificate was updated to reflect “intersex” instead of “male” or “female.”
Marquez currently works as an activist for the intersex organization Jax Youth Equality in Jacksonville, Florida.
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They work as an activist for the intersex group Jax Youth Equality.
“Here’s the thing that confuses people: My biological sex is intersex,” Marquez said. “We live in a world that thinks that should be in alignment with my gender identity.”
But biological sex and gender identity don’t always match, Marquez told Them.us.
“My gender identity doesn’t match: it’s non-conforming, androgynous male,” Marquez said. “My sexual orientation confuses people even more. If I have an intersex body, they get confused when I say I’m gay.”
To give some background, Sara Kelly Keenan became the first person in U.S. history to receive an intersex birth certificate in New York City in 2016. New York City has its own vital records department separate from New York State records.
The Intersex and Genderqueer Recognition Project tracks equality and advancements concerning non-binary rights. The group has seen a leap in intersex birth certificates since Keenan’s was approved in New York City.
Making it even sweeter, Marquez received their updated birth certificate on the same day a federal judge ruled that the State Department can’t deny passports to non-binary and intersex citizens.