Judge approved an application by Patrick Abbatiello, asking to change his sex from “male” to “agender” as well as his name to Patch.
Oregon judge Amy Holmes Hehn approved an application on March 10th submitted by a writer and video game designer, Patrick Abbatiello, asking to change his sex from “male” to “agender”. Abbatiello’s application had also asked to change his name to the singular “Patch”, which the judge also approved. Patch initially sought the name and gender change on Jan. 23.
People who are agender say they have no gender identity. This should not be confused with transgender or genderqueer. Agender people typically describe feeling as if they have no gender identity whatsoever. While sex refers to one’s physical features such as chromosomes, genitalia and hormones, gender is the expression of identity, of which agender identify with neither male nor female, or any point in between.
“It’s not that I decided I was genderless—that’s just how it is,” said Patch in an interview. “I never felt like I fell within any part of the gender spectrum. None of the binary options, nothing in between. I don’t consider myself non-binary because that’s an umbrella term for anything that isn’t binary, which is gender identity.” Patch first heard the term agender about six or seven years ago. “As a kid, probably starting around age six, gender didn’t make sense to me,” Patch said. “I was told ‘men were this, women were this.’ As a teen I learned about transgender people, and that didn’t seem like what I was. And then I learned about genderqueer, and that didn’t seem like what I was.” He continued, “Prior to that I would just do my best to avoid the question of gender, and the discussion of my gender.” When he heard the term “agender”, it just seemed to fit.
Judge Hehn had also approved an Army veteran’s application last year that sought a judgment of sex change to “nonbinary.” Veteran Jamie Shupe’s petition was filed under an Oregon law that allows a court to change the legal sex of a person who has undergone treatment for a gender transition. According to records, Shupe began transitioning back in 2013.
“I was assigned male at birth due to biology,” Shupe stated. “I’m stuck with that for life. My gender identity is definitely feminine. My gender identity has never been male, but I feel like I have to own up to my male biology. Being nonbinary allows me to do that. I’m a mixture of both. I consider myself as a third sex.”
Experts believe the judge’s ruling in the Shupe case was the first ruling of its kind in the United States, and it led others to seek the same designation. “This is the first time that Sylvia Rivera Law Project has heard about this, and we applaud the court recognizing the person as they are,” attorney Kyle Rapiñan said. “We hope that other government agencies will help people self-determine their gender identity, which also includes the option to identify without a gender.” Judge Hehn explained her rationale, “I made these decisions, like all decisions, because they were supported by facts and law, and out of respect for the dignity of the people who came before me.”
Sources:
Judge Grants Oregon Resident the Right to Be Genderless
Oregon judge allows video game designer to change sex to ‘agender’
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