Hot take: there is no valid reason that official government ID should have either a sec or gender marker on it. First name, last name, dob + up to date image will suffice. Address, if relevant.
Y'all know it's crucial to paramedics, right?
Any of my followers who are paramedics/first responders/emergency room staff want to attest that no, it isn't.
What do you think happens in dire medical emergencies where an unconscious person presents and doesn't have ID on their person at the time?
I'm always confused by why people seem to think that there is some sort of Penis Emergency that will kill you if paramedics perform the Vagina Procedure on your fully clothed body.
Hospital spoilers btw: blood isn't sorted by sex, it's sorted by type. The sex of the blood donor doesn't factor in at all when receiving a transfusion, and you will not be harmed by receiving blood from a donor whose sex is different than yours. Saying this because it's another misconception that I've heard.
if you're unconscious at the hospital and they need to operate and insert a catheter in your urethra, don't worry! they'll figure out if you have a penis or a vagina without having to look at a laminated card in your wallet
And if you have ambiguous or surgically modified genitals, they'll find your urethra anyway!
I think this is one of those things where folks are so used to it that they just sort of assume there must be a good reason for it. But the only reason for your sex to be on your ID is if your legal rights differ based on your sex. Like, it would be important for your ID to say F or M if, for instance, one of those categories was allowed to open a bank account but the other one wasn't. But as far as I can tell, we have mostly decided that legal rights should pertain to everyone. Which means that sex documentation really is just a throwback to a time when women were not considered full legal persons and therefore their legal status had to be officially displayed on their ID in order to maintain that distinction.
Honestly, the only major thing I can think of that still strictly legally requires sex distinction is the military draft. Which, A) still doesn't require sex be recorded on your drivers license, B) could be made sex-neutral, or C) could be abolished instead.
