Third gender recognized for the first time in the United States

A court in the state of Oregon, USA, granted the petition of 52-year-old Jamie Shoup and recognized him as a member of the third gender, the Guardian writes . Shoup now officially has the right not to define himself as either a man or a woman. This is the first precedent in US history when the court recognized the right of a citizen to break away from traditional gender coordinates.

As Good clarifies , Shoup experienced difficulties since childhood due to the inability to fit into the bigender system. He served 18 years in the US Army, during which time he identified as transgender.

“Attitudes in the army towards gender issues are very specific. As you know, transgender people are still technically not eligible to serve. However, for me this experience turned out to be very comfortable, since no one could fire me,” Shoup says.

The American prefers to use the pronoun “they” in relation to himself. At the age of 49, he left the army, got married, and had a child with his wife, Sandy. The wife supports her husband's struggle for self-determination.

“It was hard to accept at first. But when you love a person, you wish him happiness. I’m glad Jamie feels whole now,” Sandy said.

Shoup now intends to obtain a motorcycle license as a member of the “third gender.”

The third gender is officially accepted in Germany, Australia, and more recently in India. During the next census, representatives of the hijra - one of the groups of the untouchable caste - refused to register as men and women and demanded to recognize them as a third gender. On April 16, 2014, the Supreme Court of India officially granted the hijra's claims.

The first asexual person is considered to be Australian resident Norrie May-Welby, who received his official status in 2011.