The UK government cite “complex practical consequences for other areas of the law, service provision and public life” in their decision to not include non-binary identities alongside male and female. 

Following a rapidly-growing petition with over 136,000 signatures (which you can add to right here) and mounting demand for non-binary people to have their gender identity legally recognised in the UK, the government have said “all sound a bit like too much work tbh” that it’s not something they’re looking into at this time for the above reasons. 

The statement read: “In UK law individuals are considered to be the sex that is registered on their birth certificate – either male or female”.

“The GRA [Gender Recognition Act 2004] provides a means for transgender people to change the sex on their birth certificate, but there is currently no provision for those who do not identify as male or female”, it continued.

In contrast, Denmark, New Zealand, Bangladesh, India, and Nepal all now allow citizens to be recognised as non-binary on legal documents.

The aim of the petition – as explained by its creator – is quite simple: “There is no option of ‘non-binary’ on legal forms, ignoring members of the population… By recognising non-binary as a valid gender identity, it would aid in the protection of non-binary individuals against transphobic hate crimes, and would ease gender dysphoria experienced by non-binary people.”