Why do we think it's so important to assign a sex and gender to a baby at birth? Does it really serve an important public policy or public health purpose, or does this practice more reflect our irrational need to classify people along these axes as quickly as possible?

There are lots of characteristics about babies that you can immediately tell about them. Why does sex make the cut? Moreover, why do we think it's then okay to impose a vast set of norms on that child that differ based on the gender culturally associated with that sex?

The following Aeon article by Heath Fogg Davis addresses a cluster of these issues. In particular, Davis focuses on the palpable harms faced by trans people resulting from listing sex-identity on birth certificates.

Check it out:

https://aeon.co/ideas/lets-delete-sex-identity-from-birth-certificates