America gets first ‘genderless’ person after court ruling

A Portland student has become the first American to gain legal designation as “genderless”, following a ruling by a Multnomah County judge.

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The March 10 decision, reported for the first time on Thursday, involved a 27-year-old who was born male but claimed to identify with no gender whatsoever. Judge Amy Holmes, who approved the petition, also last year approved a “non-binary” gender designation for another Portland resident.

The 27-year-old formerly known as Patrick Abbatiello, now legally designated agender, also got legal approval to change names, now going only by “Patch,” no surname. That name also serves as a pronoun, Patch explained to the local NBC affiliate this week.

“Even gender-neutral pronouns don’t feel as if they fit me,” Patch said. “I feel no identity or closeness with any pronouns I’ve come across. What describes me is my name.”

By deadline, Patch did not respond to requests for interview sent by phone and Facebook through Portland Community College’s Queer Resource Center. Patch works there as a co-coordinator, and a Facebook post for the center lauded the student for “blazing the way.”