Transgender Identity Around the World: The Netherlands

A participant waves a rainbow flag during the annual Canal Parade at Prinsengracht in Amsterdam, Saturday Aug. 3, 2013. Rainbow flags are flying from scores of buildings as tens of thousands of festival-goers, many dressed in pink or wearing studded leather, party it up at one of the city’s biggest events: the annual Gay Pride celebration.
A participant waves a rainbow flag during the annual Canal Parade at Prinsengracht in Amsterdam, Saturday Aug. 3, 2013. Rainbow flags are flying from scores of buildings as tens of thousands of festival-goers, many dressed in pink or wearing studded leather, party it up at one of the city's biggest events: the annual Gay Pride celebration. Margriet Faber / AP Photo
A participant waves a rainbow flag during the annual Canal Parade at Prinsengracht in Amsterdam, Saturday Aug. 3, 2013. Rainbow flags are flying from scores of buildings as tens of thousands of festival-goers, many dressed in pink or wearing studded leather, party it up at one of the city’s biggest events: the annual Gay Pride celebration.
A participant waves a rainbow flag during the annual Canal Parade at Prinsengracht in Amsterdam, Saturday Aug. 3, 2013. Rainbow flags are flying from scores of buildings as tens of thousands of festival-goers, many dressed in pink or wearing studded leather, party it up at one of the city's biggest events: the annual Gay Pride celebration. Margriet Faber / AP Photo

Transgender Identity Around the World: The Netherlands

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This is the fifth installment on our series about transgender identity around the world, produced and hosted by Worldview production assistant Anna Waters. A new court ruling in the Netherlands opens the door to a gender neutral option on official documents, arguing that the Dutch legislature should pass a law allowing citizens to legally identify as neither male nor female. This new ruling and potential law could have significant implications for Dutch people who identify outside of the gender binary of male or female. To discuss, we’re joined by Brand Berghouwer, who identifies as transgender and nonbinary, and is chairperson of the Netherlands Transgender Network. We also discuss the state of the Dutch transgender and nonbinary communities with regard to discrimination and access to healthcare.