2016.01.05
Call to remove gender from UK passports and driving licences
Maria Miller, chair of committee looking at transgender equality, says male/female references unnecessary on official documents
Saturday 2 January 2016
source: the guardian
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/02/call-to-remove-gender-from-uk-passports-and-driving-licences
Passports and driving licences should not state if the holder is male or female because it causes problems for transgender people, a Conservative MP has said.
Maria Miller, who chairs the women and equalities committee, said the government should “strip back” talking about gender unless it was necessary.
A person’s gender was not relevant on official documents and created an unconscious bias in job and university applications, she said.
Miller’s comments came during an inquiry by the committee into transgender equality, which heard evidence from NHS England that there were around 4,500 referrals to gender identity services each year, including increasing numbers of children.
In an interview with the Times, Miller said: “As a society and a government we should be looking at ways of trying to strip back talking about gender, and only do that when it’s absolutely necessary. We need to understand that gender stereotyping can be as damaging for men as it can be for women.
“For individuals who have decided to transition but haven’t necessarily got the right documentation, it can cause problems. Why do we need gender on our driving licence? Why do we have to have it on our passport if it doesn’t really add identification? It’s not relevant. Australia has decided to degender their passports.”
She said women now held a “seismically different” role in society.
“If we are going to help girls who are coming through our education system not to be hampered by gender stereotypes then we have to look at these things.
“There’s so much we can do to make the playing field level and in university applications as well. We’ve got to tackle the unconscious bias in the system.”
The committee was expected to publish a report on transgender discrimination next week. Figures published last year showed that the number of children aged 10 or under referred to the NHS to help deal with transgender feelings had more than quadrupled in the last six years. Many experienced gender dysphoria, a recognised medical condition in which someone feels uncomfortable because of a mismatch between their biological sex and gender identity, according to NHS Choices.
source: the guardian
