Germany is slated to be the only European country to add a third gender option to birth certificates.
Parents will soon be able to check their newborn child off as either a male, female or "blank."
This allows hermaphrodite babies to keep their gender classification open until they decide which sex they identify with. They can also choose to eschew binary gender categorization and remain a "blank."
The legislation will take effect on November 1, according to German news site Spiegel Online.
As the first European country to allow this choice, Germany is in the midst of a "legal revolution," one Munich-based news organization said.
But the European Union is reportedly behind on trying to bolster up support for legislation that pushes anti-discrimination. According to Spiegel Online, Finland is the sole nation in the EU that has made noted moves to allow third gender recognition. But not one single, tangible bill has been introduced to lawmakers.
Policy director at human rights organization ILGA Europe Silvan Agius said that the EU is truly trailing on the matter.
"Things are moving slower than they should at the European level," Agius said. "Though Brussels has ramped up efforts to promote awareness of trans and intersex discrimination, I would like to see things speed up."
He claimed that officials in Brussels consigned a probe into trans and intersex minorities in 2010, but since then, has not really done much more.
"Germany's move will put more pressure on Brussels," Agius continued. "That can only be a good thing."
Because Germany is the trailblazer of the third gender option, some are not sure how this will affect federal and government documents-passports, social security paperwork and other public forms-that do not observe the "blank" box to check.
