Okay, so I’m assuming most of us have heard of this:

“5.2(1) An Air carrier shall not transport a passenger if… (c) the passenger does not appear to be of the gender indicated on the identification he or she presents…”

http://laws.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/SOR-2007-82/FullText.html

http://chrismilloy.ca/2012/01/transgender-people-are-completely-banned-from-boarding-airplanes-in-canada/

etc.

So, if we remove gender as a category of classification from ID Cards (M, F, or whatever), what other criteria can you use to confirm someone’s identity? Hair color? Eye color? Finger prints? Retina scans? What are some good alternatives?

Where I’m coming from is that:

(a) I think that “gender” is an arbitrary category of identification. Like, what is a man or a woman ‘supposed’ to look like and who gets to decide that? And what about people who don’t want to or are unable to change their sex designation marker?

(b) I also don’t want to fuel this culture of security and surveillance. So, I think that options like fingerprints, TSA scanners, etc., are terrifying and invasive alternatives.

Does anyone have any ideas for alternatives to using gender a category of classification on ID?