# Alex MacFarlane

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Australian activist

For other persons of the same name, see [Alexander Macfarlane (disambiguation)](/source/Alexander_Macfarlane_(disambiguation)).

Alex MacFarlane Born Victoria, Australia Known for Being the first known person to hold passport with X sex marker

**Alex MacFarlane** is an Australian activist and an [intersex](/source/Intersex) person born with [XXY](/source/Klinefelter_syndrome) sex chromosomes. Born in [Victoria](/source/Victoria_(Australia)), MacFarlane is believed to be the first holder of an indeterminate birth certificate and passport.[1][2][3][4][5]

## Birth certificate and passport

MacFarlane is believed to be the first person in Australia to obtain a birth certificate recording sex as indeterminate, and the first Australian passport with an 'X' sex marker in 2003.[1][2][3][4][5] MacFarlane was reported as receiving a passport with an 'X' sex descriptor in early 2003.[1][2][5]

This was stated by [the West Australian](/source/The_West_Australian) newspaper to be on the basis of a challenge by MacFarlane, using an indeterminate birth certificate issued by the State of Victoria. The West Australian newspaper reported in January 2003 that the [Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade](/source/Department_of_Foreign_Affairs_and_Trade_(Australia)) "had decided to accommodate people whose birth certificates recorded their sex as indeterminate... MacFarlane is also believed to be the first Australian issued with a birth certificate acknowledging a gender other than male or female, which says 'indeterminate – also known as intersex'". It was issued in MacFarlane‘s birth state of Victoria, which unlike WA, changed its policy to allow the category.[1]

Several other Australians are known to have adopted sex non-specific or indeterminate identification documents subsequently, including [Tony Briffa](/source/Tony_Briffa_(politician)),[6][7] and [Norrie May-Welby](/source/Norrie_May-Welby).[8][9][10]

## See also

- [Intersex human rights](/source/Intersex_human_rights)

- [Legal recognition of intersex people](/source/Legal_recognition_of_intersex_people)

- [Intersex rights in Australia](/source/Intersex_rights_in_Australia)

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-West_Australian_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-West_Australian_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-West_Australian_1-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-West_Australian_1-3) ["X marks the spot for intersex Alex"](https://web.archive.org/web/20131110023525/http://www.bodieslikeours.org/pdf/xmarks.pdf) (PDF). *West Australian*. bodieslikeours.org. 11 January 2003. Archived from [the original](http://www.bodieslikeours.org/pdf/xmarks.pdf) (PDF) on 10 November 2013.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Science_as_Culture_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Science_as_Culture_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Science_as_Culture_2-2) Holme, Ingrid (2008). "Hearing People's Own Stories". *Science as Culture*. **17** (3): 341–344. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1080/09505430802280784](https://doi.org/10.1080%2F09505430802280784). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [143528047](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:143528047).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-asa_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-asa_3-1) ["Newsletter of the Sociology of Sexualities Section of the American Sociological Association"](http://www.asanet.org/sectionsex/documents/SUMMER03sexnews.pdf) (PDF). *American Sociological Association Sexualities News*. **6** (1). Summer 2003.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-oii10_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-oii10_4-1) ["Ten years of 'X' passports, and no protection from discrimination"](https://web.archive.org/web/20131211191956/http://oii.org.au/21597/). *[Organisation Intersex International Australia](/source/Organisation_Intersex_International_Australia)*. 19 January 2013. Archived from [the original](http://oii.org.au/21597/) on 11 December 2013. Retrieved 6 December 2013.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Sydney_Morning_Herald_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Sydney_Morning_Herald_5-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Sydney_Morning_Herald_5-2) ["Neither man nor woman"](https://www.smh.com.au/nsw/neither-man-nor-woman-20100626-zaye.html). *[Sydney Morning Herald](/source/Sydney_Morning_Herald)*. 27 June 2010.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-gnn_6-0)** ["OII VP Tony Briffa to wed partner in NZ ceremony – Gay News Network"](https://web.archive.org/web/20131110035430/http://gaynewsnetwork.com.au/news/national/tony-briffa-to-wed-partner-in-nz-ceremony-12022.html). *[Gay News Network](/source/SX_News)*. 27 September 2013. Archived from [the original](http://gaynewsnetwork.com.au/news/national/tony-briffa-to-wed-partner-in-nz-ceremony-12022.html) on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 6 December 2013.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Cr_Tony_Briffa_7-0)** ["About Tony"](https://web.archive.org/web/20140406012528/http://briffa.org/about). *Briffa.org*. 2012. Archived from [the original](http://briffa.org/about) on 6 April 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2013.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Telegraph_8-0)** ["Briton is recognised as world's first officially genderless person"](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/7446850/Briton-is-recognised-as-worlds-first-officially-genderless-person.html). *The Telegraph*. 15 March 2010.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-DailyLifeAU_9-0)** ["Norrie May-Welby's battle to regain status as the world's first legally genderless person"](http://www.dailylife.com.au/news-and-views/dl-opinion/norrie-maywelbys-battle-to-regain-status-as-the-worlds-first-legally-genderless-person-20131107-2x3nh.html). *Daily Life Australia*. 8 November 2013.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Huffington_10-0)** ["Norrie May-Welby: The World's First Legally Genderless Person"](https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/18/norrie-may-welby-the-worl_n_502851.html). *The Huffington Post*. 18 March 2010.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Alex MacFarlane](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_MacFarlane) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_MacFarlane?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.