A Canadian man has changed his legal sex in a successful bid to get cheaper car insurance.
Dubbed ‘David’ by the media, he said: “I’m a man, 100 per cent. Legally, I’m a woman.”
He explained that he took the action to show how easy it is to change legal sex, rather than to criticise people with deep-seated gender issues.
Unhappy
Discussing the process, David explained that he was given a quote of around $4,500 to insure a new car.
He asked the insurer what would happen to the price if he was a woman – and was told it would drop to $3,423.
“I am now a woman. I wasn’t one last year”, “I now pay $1100 less for auto-insurance.”
After failing to change his gender with the insurance company, he contacted a doctor, and signed a legal document to say he was unhappy with being male.
‘Identify as a woman’
“It was pretty simple,” he told CBC News. “I just basically asked for it and told them that I identify as a woman, or I’d like to identify as a woman, and he wrote me the letter I wanted.”
After sending the local Government the letter, he received a new birth certificate that listed him as female.
His insurance company then recognised his change in sex and quoted him the cheaper price.
Online the anonymous man said: “I am now a woman. I wasn’t one last year”, “I now pay $1100 less for auto-insurance. I won. The end.”
Self-identification
David’s actions have sparked controversy – with one ex-Government minister accusing him of perjury.
But he said: “I didn’t do it to point out how easy it is to change genders”. “I didn’t do it to criticize or ridicule transgender or LGBT rights.”
The requirement for a doctor’s letter has now been dropped for a policy of ‘self-declaration’.
Public opposition
In the UK, Theresa May has backed a consultation on changing legal sex, which could also see a system of self-identification.
But a recent survey showed that fewer than one in five think people should be able to ‘change sex’ without a doctor’s approval.