Recommendation: Australia Recognizes “Non-specified” Gender
A reader recommends…
“Australia may have made gender history this week, as the New South Wales government lays claim to being the first in the world to recognize an individual’s sex as officially ‘not specified.'”
Posted by Zory on March 11th, 2010 at 04:39 pm
Category: articles, recommendations 7 comments »
March 11th, 2010 at 5:46 pm |
My gut reaction is just a whole-hearted YES. Executive badassery is rare, but occasionally very cool.
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March 11th, 2010 at 8:11 pm |
I love hir hair. And this is so needed!
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March 11th, 2010 at 10:21 pm |
the milestone of non specified gender is great! what bothers me is what Norrie talks about in the interview. Zie says that some other cultures see trans as two spirited or bigender, and it would be better if we could be “both” genders instead of just having to pick. having the ability to express multiple genders is great, fabulous, in fact. however, what hir statements do not take into account is that there aren’t just two genders to be, and that two-spirited and bigender is something different than transgender. people should be able to have a gender that isn’t just “one” or “the other”, as zie says, but people having a “gender that doesn’t match their sex” shouldn’t be written off.
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March 12th, 2010 at 12:03 am |
“what hir statements do not take into account is that there aren’t just two genders to be…” Yes. I was thinking this also. It occurred to me that zie (ZIE!! The first time I’ve ever seen it in print!) is talking from hir experience…..which, possibly, what this utter badassery has made legal/affirming,in a personal way. :DDD
“two-spirit and bi-gender is something different than transgender.” ok. maybe. don’t know much about this.
my concern is about the markers used to declare whether zie/one is “non-specified” – is it still the old system of thingies dangling, etc. from your body, or is it, hopefully, self-identification?
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March 12th, 2010 at 4:30 am |
“my concern is about the markers used to declare whether zie/one is “non-specified” – is it still the old system of thingies dangling, etc. from your body, or is it, hopefully, self-identification?”
From the article it appears that zie was able to be “unspecified” because doctors could find no proof that zie was *biologically* male or female and then no proof that zie was *psychologically* male or female. If zie had not stopped hir hormone treatment or if zie still had hir gonads, I doubt they would have done this for hir.
I hate how doctors through the ages have controlled trans and intersex peoples identities. Just look up the case of Herculine Barbin, an intersex woman forced to live as a man.
I really want to live in a world where the idea that your gender is that which you say it is is truly respected.
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March 12th, 2010 at 1:17 pm |
Awesome!
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March 15th, 2010 at 9:12 pm |
The news is awesome, of course, but what I can’t get over is eir HAIR. <3!
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