<\/p>\n
The plaintiff, who had been considered a man since being designated male at birth, can now use the term “neutral gender” on personal official documents as a result of the August 20 court ruling, vice-prosecutor Joel Patard said.<\/p>\n
The case is however subject to appeal.<\/p>\n
It was originally reported by the daily newspaper 20 Minutes<\/a>, which interviewed the individual involved, who is married and has adopted a child.<\/p>\n The plaintiff was born with a “rudimentary vagina” and a “micropenis” but no testicles.<\/p>\n “As a teenager I understood that I was not a boy. I didn’t have a beard, my muscles didn’t grow,” the individual told the paper. “Today I finally feel I am recognised by society for who I really am.”<\/p>\n Patard said the 64-year-old had approached the courts in June to seek the “neutral gender” civil status, not wanting such an “unequivocal” designation as male or female.<\/p>\n Medical evidence and research showing that the individual was not unique were produced in the case, Patard said.<\/p>\n The plaintiff told 20 Minutes that at age 35, after doctors administered testosterone: “My appearance became more masculine. It was a shock, I no longer recognised myself. It made me realise I was neither a man nor a woman.”<\/p>\n The vice-prosecutor said he was however appealing the court’s decision, not because he fiercely opposed it but because he felt a higher ruling was necessary in a case that has “collided with current laws”.<\/p>\n Several countries including Germany<\/a>, Australia, New Zealand and Nepal officially recognise a third gender on official forms.<\/p>\n