Passport applications are changing. Instead of "father" and "mother" spots on the form, they are now "parent 1" and "parent 2." According to January 7, 2011 Fox News:
A statement on the State Department website noted: “These improvements are being made to provide a gender neutral description of a child’s parents and in recognition of different types of families.”
...
“Changing the term mother and father to the more global term of parent allows many different types of families to be able to go and apply for a passport for their child without feeling like the government doesn’t recognize their family,” said Jennifer Chrisler, executive director of Family Equality Council.
I'm surprised the State Department was so limiting. Given artificial insemination, blended families, polyamoury, etc., their should be a multipart column titled "Guardians."
ReplyDeleteAlso, didn't Spain abandon mother and father some time ago in favor of "progenitor?"