Nonbinary New Yorkers will soon be able to mark “X” as their gender on official documents

Nonbinary people seeking public assistance in the state of New York will soon be able to mark their gender as “X.”

Earlier this week, the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) announced that the state’s Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA), which oversees statewide public assistance programs, agreed to make the X gender marker available on all public-facing OTDA and New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) documents beginning in January.

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The agreement comes as part of a settlement in a 2021 lawsuit brought by the NYCLU on behalf of Jules Donahue, Jaime Mitchell, and Princess Janae Place, a Bronx-based trans-led community organization. The suit argued that by refusing to update its application and record-keeping systems to include the “X” gender marker alongside “male” and “female,” the OTDA had discriminated against nonbinary people on the basis of gender identity. The agency’s process forced nonbinary New Yorkers seeking assistance to misidentify their gender under oath, the suit argued, and conflicted with state and municipal policies that recognize the “X” gender marker on identification documents.

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As the NYCLU notes, New York’s 2021 Gender Recognition Act established “X” as a gender option on New York birth certificates, driver’s licenses, and nondriver IDs. A New York state statute also requires agencies that collect sex and gender information to include “X” as a gender option, though the OTDA, the Department of Labor, the Office of Children and Family Services, and the Division of Criminal Justice Services were exempt.

Gabriella Larios, staff attorney at the NYCLU, called this week’s announcement “a major victory for the thousands of nonbinary New Yorkers who will be able to seek public benefits without being forced to lie about their identity or risk being misgendered.”

“Offering ‘X’ gender markers lets nonbinary New Yorkers know that their government sees them and honors who they are when seeking food stamps, cash assistance, and other supports to help them get back on their feet,” Larios said in a statement. “In the face of nationwide attacks targeting trans and nonbinary people, we will continue to monitor implementation of the settlement to ensure compliance and protect the rights of nonbinary New Yorkers.” 

“No New Yorker should have to make a choice between lying about their gender identity or forgoing public assistance,” Donahue said. “While today’s agreement does not erase the emotional harm of being misgendered, I am grateful for OTDA’s policy changes, which will help nonbinary people like me to feel more at home in their bodies, their lives and their societies.” 

The World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) includes obtaining accurate gender markers on ID documents among its recommendations for social support to alleviate gender dysphoria, while a 2015 study published in BMC Public Health reported significant reductions in suicide attempts for trans and nonbinary people who were able to obtain documents that accurately reflected their gender.