Not a man, not a woman: Why this writer wants a non-binary Ontario birth certificate

Joshua M. Ferguson first came out as queer at 15 in the small Ontario town of Napanee.

Then came the bullying, physical abuse, and death threats.

"I was the only out queer person in the entire high school of 1,500 kids," recalls the 34-year-old writer, filmmaker and activist, who now calls Vancouver home.

Two decades after the trauma of coming out, Ferguson now identifies as neither a man nor a woman — and wants to take a stand on behalf of other non-binary Canadians.

Neither male nor female — What it's like to identify as 'non-binary'

Ferguson is heading to a Service Ontario office Friday to apply for a change of sex designation from male to non-binary, hoping to get a new birth certificate — something that's part personal journey, part activism on behalf of a community Ferguson says has a "lack of recognition."

Joshua M. Ferguson, an Ontario-born writer and filmmaker, is hoping to change the sex designation on their birth certificate from male to non-binary. (Joshua M. Ferguson)

Non-binary people "are completely invisible in our society," Ferguson says in an exclusive interview with CBC Toronto. "And we've been around forever."

Ferguson uses the pronouns they, them, and their to reflect their gender identity as a non-binary trans person, an identity they finally realized around five years ago.

"I was really quite unhappy, depressed, and I knew there was something in my life that I hadn't figured out yet," Ferguson says. "There was always a piece missing. A piece of how I understood myself."

Vancouver couple Joshua M. Ferguson (right) and partner Florian Halbedl (left). (Joshua M. Ferguson)

Government tackling gender identity I.D. concerns

After submitting the application to Ontario's vital statistics registry later this week, Ferguson will have to wait for the government's decision — which could take up to six weeks — before applying for a change of sex on other forms of government-issued I.D.

That's, of course, if the province approves it — and that's a big if.

Toronto transgender activist Susan Gapka says it's likely others have tried similar applications for a non-binary Ontario birth certificate privately, and were probably denied.

"People are registered at birth. They're registered in a sex without consent," says Gapka. "You can only apply in the jurisdiction where you're born ... at the current time, you cannot amend your registration of birth anything other than male or female categories."

The federal government recently announced that Canadians will soon have a third option to tick off on their passport other than "male" or "female." (Tom Hanson/Canadian Press)

But, Gapka says, that's slowly changing. Starting last year, Ontario began issuing gender-neutral health cards and, later, gender-neutral driver's licences as well.

And it's a conversation happening across the country.

Ferguson's application follows that of a St. John's, NL activist, who recently applied for a non-binary birth certificate in their home province.

It also comes on the heels of a federal announcement that Canadians will soon have a third option to tick off on their passport other than "male" or "female."

The move is meant to be in the spirit of Bill C-16, which would update the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code, making it illegal to discriminate based on gender identity or expression.

That's all good news to Ferguson.

"I think in the near future, we're finally going to be counted as human beings. And that is so powerful, and so necessary."

With files from Kathleen Harris, CBC News