Earlier this week, two of the three public hearings for the proposed change to the DOL’s rules to add an “X” gender designation on state-issued IDs took place in Seattle and Olympia, respectively. There was also a hearing on Thursday in Spokane (we sadly weren’t at that one, but if you attended we would love to have you do a write-up for us about it!).

The rule change is expected to pass later this month. In the meantime, for the curious, here’s a candid comparison of how the first two hearings went, from the perspective of a first-time attendee of a public hearing.

Olympia V. Seattle: Gender X DOL Hearings

Turnout: By The Numbers

Seattle had approximately 100 people attend, not including representatives of the press, DOL, Seattle Public Library, and other event coordinators. Of these attendees, between 35-50 chose to speak on the record.

Olympia had a little less than half the number of attendance as the Seattle hearing, with about 40-50 persons in attendance. Only about 10 persons chose to speak on the record.

Who Spoke?

In Seattle, speakers represented a mix of cis-gendered, non-binary persons, trans persons, persons of colors, a diversity of ages, two persons who spoke on behalf of their religious communities, a high-school student, and some persons not born in the U.S. The majority of speakers identified as non-binary and trans, some of who are actively involved in gender-related activism in the area and some of who were merely speaking from their own personal experiences. Many cis-gendered persons spoke on behalf of organizations or their respective professions (such as being an educator), and some spoke on behalf of their non-binary children, young children, or unborn children.

In Olympia, the speakers were mostly cis-gendered, although there was a few transgendered persons and one non-binary person who shared their personal experiences as part of the hearing. One person who identified themselves as intersex also spoke. The cis-gendered persons generally represented organizations or groups, including one legislator from district 22 who spoke on behalf of a group of legislators who comprise the LGBTQ Commission. Like in Seattle, educators spoke in favor of the rule change.

Cultural Differences: Introductions

The majority of Seattlites who spoke at the hearing included their pronouns in their introduction.

In Olympia, speakers often included their legislative district and rarely included their pronouns.

(Note: The representatives from the DOL introduced themselves with pronouns at both hearings)

Cultural Differences: Crowd & Reactions

Seattle’s crowd actively participated in the hearing by responding to each speaker’s statement through clapping at the end of each statement and through snapping fingers during statements as a show of support (this is a common gesture in art and queer spaces). Some light cheering also took place after some particularly poignant statements.

Most of the attendees in Seattle appeared in casual clothing (such as jeans) and a variety of gender expression and styles. The crowd was a wide mix of genders, appearances, and ages.

In Olympia, the crowd stayed reserved and was not responsive to speakers, either positively or negatively. There was no finger snapping and no clapping after statements.

Most of the attendees in Olympia were in business casual clothing (very few jeans), such as business suits, dress shirts, dresses or skirts. Most of the attendee’s gender expression leaned feminine. There were not many attendees who appeared to express their gender in a masculine way. Most attendees appeared to be in the 30+ age range.

Who Was “Pro” and Who Was “Against?”

In Seattle, all speakers were in favor of the rule change (and, from my limited vantage point of seeing two of the multiple sign-in sheets available to attendees - at least on those two pages the listed attendees were all “pro”). Some persons who spoke advocated in favor of the change but had specific requests to changes in the bill, such as asking the DOL to not share the information with ICE or law enforcement, to waive fees, or to lower the cost of getting a new license for those doing it for gender-related reasons. Some advocated for the gender markers “NB” instead of an “X” or for a different marker to be available to intersex persons, if they so chose to have it.

In Olympia, most speakers were in favor of the change. Here, like in Seattle, some speakers asked the WA DOL to consider not sharing this sensitive information with law enforcement. There was one person who was “against” (a cis-gendered woman from Tumwater who, thankfully, didn’t speak so much from a place of hatred or dislike of enbys but instead believed that the rule shouldn’t be changed without more consideration into what should be asked of a person apply for an “X” marker) and one person who went on record as “not sure.” The “not sure” statement was made by an intersex person who believed the change to be overall good but felt that perhaps non-binary and intersex persons should not both have an “X” marker and included remarks about their own difficulties finding out about being intersex.

Press Coverage

In Seattle, two cameras were placed in the back to record the hearing. They appeared to be news cameras.

In Olympia, there was no visible cameras recording the processing.

Length of Hearing

The Seattle hearing lasted about 1.5 hours, with people mingling, talking, and getting to know each other afterward for about 30-45 minutes after the hearing had wrapped up (eventually, representatives of the DOL and library asked attendees to clear the meeting room for the sake of closing up the building).

The Olympia hearing lasted only 30 mins. Most people did not stay afterward, although a few did. Those that did stayed for about 15 mins after the hearing was wrapped up, although some people were still mingling in the hallway as the room was being closed.

Comparison: Olympia & Seattle Gender X DOL Hearings