Chile Issues Its First Gender-neutral ID Card

Shane Cienfuegos was the first non-binary person in Chile to get a gender-neutral identity certificate.

They say that even though they have won against centuries of prejudice, they still feel a "great weight" of duty.

The 29-year-old stated ten days after receiving their new ID from civil registration in Santiago that "It is difficult to be the first," Manilastandard.net reported.

The card is marked with an X rather than an "F" for females or an "M" for males in the section to indicate gender.

Cienfuegos identifies as transgender and non-binary and prefers the gender-neutral Spanish pronoun "elle" (they).

They had long, flowing dark hair, a tidy goatee, lipstick, a flowery dress, and platform heels.

On October 14, Cienfuegos won a nine-year legal struggle to obtain an identification paper that accurately reflects how they see themselves.

It was the first ID card issued in Chile that did not specify the holder's gender.

Non-binary People Suffer From Bullying

Cienfuegos claimed they were victims of violent assaults over the years and had been bullied since they were very young.

According to News 18, during the release of a book about their eventful life in Las Condes, Santiago, they said, "I've had to fight for my life on the street I don't know how many times,"

"I have survived. I have made myself tough to survive a cruel, dehumanizing system," they said between signing books.

They added that the leading cause of trans deaths is murder. They said that trans do not die from diseases; instead, they die because they are killed, and they commit suicide as they suffer from violence.

They have been fighting for the rights of non-binary people since high school, and they sell sex to pay for their social work degree.

Cienfuegos is currently a prominent member of the advocacy group Organizando Trans Diversidades (Organizing Trans Diversities).

Chile Is Shifting Away From Conservatism

Chile has been slowly moving away from the conservative government of Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990) and the Catholic Church's influence.

The gender activist Movilh said that in the last year alone, more than 1,000 complaints of discrimination against the LGBTQIA+ community were made in the country, with about 127 complaints coming from transgender people.

The Anti-Discrimination Act, passed by Congress in 2012, made same-sex civil unions legal after three years.

While a law was established in 2018 allowing for sex changes starting at the age of 14, and legislation approving homosexual marriage and adoption was passed in 2021.

A Santiago-based appeals court recognized Cienfuegos' non-binary gender identity in July of this year. However, the battle is far from done, Her Zindagi noted.

In Chile, the law recognises only two genders: male and female. Anyone who wanted an "X" on their card would have to go through the same legal steps.

According to Cienfuegos, the non-binary ID is one of several milestones that must be attained to advance fundamental rights. However, being a conservative means dealing with daily discrimination because you are sexually different.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Bert Hoover

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