PORTLAND (NEWS CENTER Maine) -- Maine is the first state in New England to offer gender neutral licenses. For some, it's as simple as checking a box. But for at least one Mainer, it's a question of identity.
"My mother always told me, if I had been born as society perceives as a male, my name would have been Ian. And she was always debating between Ian or Meredythe and so, kinda just combined the two," says Ian-Meredythe Lindsey.
Ian-Meredythe Lindsey is proud of the name they decided to change on their birth certificate. They also wanted to make a change to their driver's license. That wasn't so easy – and the result would impact many others, exactly one year later.
"You know I never went into this with like 'oh my gosh I want to be this trailblazer, this pioneer.' More like, this is something I just need to do," Lindsey said.
Lindsey does not identify as male or female.
"The pro-nouns I use are 'they,' 'them,' 'theirs.'"
They requested a driver's license with a non-binary gender marker. When they were denied, a complaint was filed with the Maine Human Rights Commission which began a conversation. The result: the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles added "non-binary" as its third option for gender. The font will be displayed as "M", "F", or "X."
"I'm just hoping that it'll bring more compassion to people and just awareness of how they view people."
Lindsey says this change will also help with confusion. For example, when going through TSA to visit family out of state. They say they've been groped in the process before.
"Knowing that that is something that could happen every time I travel is extremely anxiety inducing," says Lindsey. "I don't have any family that lives here in the state so I do travel quite a lot."
"I was just speaking with the co-chairs of Pride Portland [Monday] and I'm thinking one of the most celebratory festivals we've ever had," says Quinn Gormley, Executive Director of MaineTransNet.
Maine is the third state to offer a non-binary gender specification and the first in New England. The changes will roll out as part of a system upgrade at the BMV as soon as next summer. Until then, if you wish to update your ID, you can fill out the Gender Designation Form and the BMV will send you a sticker.