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A transgender Canadian parent has won their case for their young child to be given an unassigned gender from birth.
Kori Doty is determined to allow eight-month-old Searyl to determine gender on their own terms when they are older.
Authorities have refused to issue a birth certificate but allowed a healthcare card to be marked with 'U' instead of the traditional 'M' or 'F' in the gender category.
Doty, who identifies as neither male nor female in gender, said the decision was something they and others had been campaigning for some time.
"I'm a trans person and was raised within one particular gender and years later found that wasn't really what suited me best," Doty said.
"I wanted to be able to hold the space for my kid to explore who they were without all of the baggage that comes with the boy box and girl box.
While Doty said the decision was momentous, it was the first step in a larger push.
"I've been involved with a case which is going through the Human Rights Tribunal here in DC with eight other folks and also an organisation that represents all trans people in DC," Doty said.
"We've been asking for birth certificates without a gender marker since 2015.
"So it was a very natural step for me to first of all try and have Searyl joined in as a part of that."
While Searyl will not have official documentation in the form of a birth certificate, they will still be recognised by government services.
"We have a health card, which gives them access to our universal healthcare system," Doty said.
"In terms of bureaucratic challenges, obviously they'll have a passport but we don't have any immediate plans of leaving the country.
"And they're only eight months old, so I'm not going to be registering them for school.
"But we're trying to get them a birth certificate and we're also trying to get this law changed — so those things kind of work together."
Doty said they hoped the decision would allow Searyl to make choices about their gender without social pressures.
"I hope that it means that they feel more supported to explore whoever they are, regardless of how that pertains to binary expectations," they said.
"I do think that the way that I'm parenting them and the way that our family operates will give them a lot more freedom to come to who they are with a lot less angst.
"So them not having a birth certificate now is not doing them wrong in any way. They're a very, very happy kid who is very supported."