divers (adj.)

In Germany, parents must register their children at the registry office after birth in accordance with the Personal Statute Act (PStG) so that they can be recorded in the birth register. In the process, a child's gender is also recorded. On October 10, 2017, the German Federal Constitutional Court ruled that not only "male" and "female" can be registered in this respect and introduced the third option "diverse". Although it has been possible to leave the gender entry unassigned after birth since 2013, the option “diverse” represents an equal and positive alternative to the entries “male” or “female”. Before, persons without a gender entry were not assigned to either gender.

According to the PStG, the gender entry "diverse" can be registered by parents whose children cannot be "assigned to either the male or the female sex" after birth (§ 22 PStG) or by persons who can prove a "variant gender development" (§ 45b PStG) by a medical certificate. Since a decision of the Federal Court of Justice in April 2020, trans* people can also have their gender entry deleted or changed to "diverse". In this case, the Transsexual Act (TSG) takes effect. A change of gender entry according to the Personal Statute Act, on the other hand, is designed for intersex people. Trans* and non-binary people who are not intersex are not intended to be able to invoke § 45b PStG (Markwald 2020). Making use of the Transsexual Act is a very costly and time-consuming procedure. On average, changing the gender entry through the TSG costs 1,868 euros (Adamietz, Bager 2017). The change must be decided by a court and can therefore take several years. In contrast, the change through the Personal Statute Act is cheaper and faster, as registry offices can make the changes.

Furthermore, the phrase: "variant[ ] of gender development" (§45b PStG) is not further defined and has been interpreted differently in the past. Some registry offices have granted trans* persons the application for the gender entry "diverse", other registry offices have decided against it, because for them only physical characteristics represent a "variant of gender development". In this regard, a concrete decision of the Federal Constitutional Court is currently missing (Markwald 2020).

Numerous organizations and campaigns therefore demand that people must be able to freely and self-determinedly choose their gender entry according to their gender identity - without a medical certificate, which is currently required under both the PStG and the TSG (Niedenthal 2021).

Furthermore, there is a lack of consequential legal regulations and amendments to laws that must be adapted according to the new Personal Status Act. Examples can be found in labor law or the legal regulations for sports competitions. Even everyday situations remain unclear; the use of public toilets or body checks at airports remain binarily separated for men and women. There are no solutions for other identities, yet (Vanja 2021).

• Adamietz, Laura; Bager, Katharina (2017): „Gutachten: Regelungs- und Reformbedarf für transgeschlechtliche Menschen. Begleitmaterial zur Interministeriellen Arbeitsgruppe Inter- & Transsexualität“. Bundesministerium für Familie, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend, Berlin. Letzter Zugriff am 21.02.2022.

• Markwald, Maya (2020) „Die Rechtsstellung von Trans*personen in Deutschland“, Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung, Dossier vom 2. Juni 2020, Letzter Zugriff: 21.01.2022.

• Niedenthal, Katrin (2021): „Rechtliche Wege zur Anerkennung geschlechtlicher Vielfalt“. In: Groß Melanie; Niedenthal, Katrin (Hrsg.): Geschlecht: divers: Die »Dritte Option« im Personenstandsgesetz - Perspektiven für die Soziale Arbeit“. transcript Verlag, Bielefeld. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783839453414-003.

• Vanja (2021): „Ein Prozess um Anerkennung. Die Geschichte von der Klage auf die dritte Option beim Geschlechtseintrag“. In: Groß Melanie; Niedenthal, Katrin (Hrsg.):  Geschlecht: divers: Die »Dritte Option« im Personenstandsgesetz - Perspektiven für die Soziale Arbeit“. transcript Verlag, Bielefeld. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783839453414-002