OMG, I am officially non-binary!
My driver's license is up for a renewal. (Information for people out of US, the driver's license here is the most commonly used government ID). I live in California, and for the renewal this year I will have to go to DMV to show some documents to get a "Real ID" which enables me to board airplanes with it. (Again, for the information, it is complicated about what ID is "real" or federal approved, but that is irrelevant to what I am talking about here).
I have planned to show up dressed for my ID picture. I have semi-done it before. When I was younger, I have had license once with that long hair and looked semi-feminine. Since then, my ID has always had obvious male pictures. Since I have been traveling enfemme quite a bit lately (even though I have not had a problem with my ID with a male picture), I think a more feminent ID picture would be nice.
So I went to DMV, got in the line, and was sent to a computer to fill out the information. Lo and behold, at the gender choice screen, I was presented with not two but three choices. Besides the normal M and F, there is a "Non-binary" option, with a remark that some forms are needed. I hesitated a bit and chose the normal M, because I am not sure what kind of form or letter is needed for that. It is not in my plan, so I usually take the safe path with that kind of issues. There is usually a long wait (more than a hour) between filling out the info and getting called to a window. So as I was sitting there, my curiosity got me. I needed to find out what this third option is and what paperwork is needed. So I started to Google and download the form from the website. It turns out that this is new in California since this year, and the form for gender choice is self-certifying. So basically you just need to make a signed affidavit statement that what you chose is your true gender. No doctor letter is needed!
That is great! That's exactly what I wanted. So when I finally got called to the window, I made the statement that I wanted to elect non-binary as my gender. The lady printed out a form for me to fill in (just name, address, my driver's license number, and my choice of gender) with some legal sounding statement. She took my paperwork to a supervisor to get the final approval. There we go. Within a few minutes, I am officially non-binary on my government ID!
OMG, I can't believe it. I was so excited and the lady behind the counter can definitely sense it. She shook my hand and wished me good luck when it is done. Within a few weeks, I will have my new Driver's License with a X mark on my gender. I have dreamed of for so many years! This is so unreal.
