(CNN) Army veteran Jamie Shupe, who identifies as neither male nor female, can legally be considered nonbinary, a judge ruled.
In what legal experts believe is Oregon's first such ruling, Judge Amy Holmes Hehn said Friday that the Portland resident's sex has been changed from female to nonbinary.
"It feels amazing to be free from a binary sex classification system that inadequately addressed who I really am, a system in which I felt confined," Shupe said.
Shupe was assigned the gender of male at birth, but started transitioning to a female in 2013, more than a decade after retiring from the military as a sergeant first class, Shupe said.
Shupe, who lived in Pittsburgh at the time, said transitioning to a female was the only option available then.
Transgender celebrities
YouTube star Jazz Jennings is part of the ranks of prominent transgender individuals doing their part to increase the community's visibility in the media. The teen activist appeared in Clean & Clear's digital campaign an stars in a TLC reality show about her life.
Former child star J.J. Totah came out as a transgender girl in am essay
published by Time magazine. "My pronouns are she, her and hers. I identify as female, specifically as a transgender female. And my name is Josie Totah," Totah wrote.
It was announced in July that transgender actress Nicole Maines had been cast as a transgender super hero, Nia Nal, who is described as "a soulful young transgender woman with a fierce drive to protect others" on The CW's "Supergirl."
Ines Rau has become the first openly transgender woman to appear as a Playboy Playmate with her spread in the November/December 2017 issue.
Gavin Rossum of the band LCD Soundsystem
told Grindr in a July 2017 interview that she's been trying to come out fully as a trans woman for years.
Zeke Smith was outed as a transgender man on a controversial episode of "Survivor: Game Changers." The 29-year-old asset manager who lives in Brooklyn
told People he struggled to forgive fellow contestant Jeff Varner who revealed the information during a Tribal Council.
Caitlyn Jenner, previously known as Bruce, revealed her new name and gender in Vanity Fair in June 2015. Jenner's announcement was called a watershed moment for transgender visibility. She appeared in the reality show "I Am Cait."
Laverne Cox, who was cast as Frank-N-Furter in the "Rocky Horror Picture Show" remake, is the first openly transgender person to be nominated for an Emmy. She appeared on the VH1 reality show "I Want to Work for Diddy" and later produced her own series,
"TRANSform Me." She now portrays Sophia, a trans woman in prison, on the Netflix show "Orange Is the New Black." She received the Emmy nomination for that role.
Former male model Andrej Pejic
revealed to People magazine in July 2014 that she has undergone sex reassignment surgery and is now Andreja.
Former "Drag Race" contestant Carmen Carrera wants to be the first transgender model to walk the runway for the Victoria's Secret fashion show.
Lana Wachowski was "Laurence" when she and her brother Andy directed films like "The Matrix."
Producer/director Lilly Wachowski used to be Andy and transitioned after her sister Lana Wachowski.
Chaz Bono transitioned from Chastity Bono, which is how many fans knew him when he appeared on his parents variety series, "The Sonny & Cher Show."
Isis King was a contestant on the 11th and 17th cycles of "America's Next Top Model."
Shupe: Titles did not fit
But Shupe said male or female titles didn't seem fitting, and preferred to use the first name, Jamie, instead of a pronoun. In April, Shupe filed a petition for a gender change.
"Oregon law has allowed for people to petition a court for a gender change for years, but the law doesn't specify that it has to be either male or female," said civil rights attorney Lake J. Perriguey, who filed the petition.
"The law just says, 'change.' Historically, people have asked for a gender change from male to female and the other way around, but Jamie is the first to ask for the gender of "nonbinary," Perriguey said.
Know your identity terms
New terms are entering the cultural lexicon as people endeavor to codify their sexual orientation or gender. These definitions, which have been edited, are primarily from the LGBTQ advocacy group The Trevor Project. The gender fluid definition is from Dictionary.com.
Visit The Trevor Project for more details.
The lawyer said the standard form provided by the court clerk listed only male or female as options, so Perriguey inserted "nonbinary."
Their wish was granted Friday.
The judge said she has determined Shupe underwent surgical, hormonal or other treatment for the purpose of gender transition.
"The sexual reassignment has been completed," Hehn wrote in the ruling. "No person has shown cause why the requested general judgment should not be granted."
One transgender woman's long road to finding herself