Until very recently, the legal gender of a person-both at birth and later in life-in virtually all jurisdictions had to be recorded as either male or female; most laws simply did not allow any other option. However, there are many cases where this gender binary is unable to capture the reality of a person's gender identity. In 2013, Germany became the first Western jurisdiction in modern times to introduce legislation allowing a person's gender to be recorded as 'indeterminate' at birth and thus give them a legal gender status other than male or female. However, despite good intentions, this legislation has proved problematic in many ways and is subject to pertinent criticism. Several other jurisdictions are now beginning to react to challenges to the gender binary. The Legal Status of Intersex Persons provides a basis for discussions surrounding law reform in this area. It contains contributions from medical, psychological, and theological perspectives, as well as national legal perspectives from Germany, Malta, Australia, India, the Netherlands, Columbia, Sweden, France, and the USA. It explores international human rights aspects of intersex legal recognition, and it features chapters on private international law and legal history. [Subject: Human Rights Law, Gender & the Law, Private International Law, Legal History]

Winner of the 2013 Bullough Award presented by the Foundation for the Scientific Study of Sexuality The term “intersex” evokes diverse images, typically of people who are both male and female or neither male nor female. Neither vision is accurate. The millions of people with an intersex condition, or DSD (disorder of sex development), are men or women whose sex chromosomes, gonads, or sex anatomy do not fit clearly into the male/female binary norm. Until recently, intersex conditions were shrouded in shame and secrecy: many adults were unaware that they had been born with an intersex condition and those who did know were advised to hide the truth. Current medical protocols and societal treatment of people with an intersex condition are based upon false stereotypes about sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability, which create unique challenges to framing effective legal claims and building a strong cohesive movement. In Intersexuality and the Law, Julie A. Greenberg examines the role that legal institutions can play in protecting the rights of people with an intersex condition. She also explores the relationship between the intersex movement and other social justice movements that have effectively utilized legal strategies to challenge similar discriminatory practices. She discusses the feasibility of forming effective alliances and developing mutually beneficial legal arguments with feminists, LGBT organizations, and disability rights advocates to eradicate the discrimination suffered by these marginalized groups.

This book addresses intersex rights violations and analyses intersex people’s legal demands as expressed by intersex activists themselves and delivered through statements and reports issued by intersex rights organisations, the United Nations and the Council of Europe. Intersex people are born with sex characteristics that do not fit typical notions of male or female bodies, as a result of which they are stigmatised, marginalised and denied the recognition of their fundamental rights. Often, they are subjected to involuntary and harmful sex “normalising” surgeries at birth, which violate their bodily integrity, self-determination and informed consent, so as to comply with societal and legal norms. Moreover, binary legal frameworks prevent them from enjoying the rights to access identification documents, start a family, or be free from discrimination in all areas including employment and sports. To elaborate on intersex violations that emanate from binary laws, this book examines the situation of intersex rights in regional jurisdictions worldwide and within the European Union in particular. In the process, it identifies current legal barriers and suggests how intersex people could be accommodated under legal frameworks and achieve sex/gender equality beyond binary definitions.

The need to allow for a legal change of sex/gender, in certain cases, is no longer disputed in most jurisdictions. For European countries, there is no question as to whether such a change should be allowed after the decision of the European Court of Human Rights in Goodwin v. United Kingdom (Application No. 28957/95). The question has therefore shifted to what the requirements should be for such a legal change. Many jurisdictions have legislated or developed an administrative approach to changing sex/gender, but the requirements differ significantly from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, particularly with regard to age, nationality, and marital status, as well as the medical and psychological requirements. The latter, in some jurisdictions, still include surgery and sterility as a precondition, thus potentially forcing the persons concerned to choose between the recognition of their sex/gender identity and their physical integrity. This book examines questions that are thus far under-researched, namely what the full legal consequences of a legal change of sex/gender should be - for example, with regard to the existing legal relationships, such as marriages and registered partnerships, but also concerning children and parentage. The Legal Status of Transsexual and Transgender Persons is the result of an international research project, including not only national reports from 14 European and non-European jurisdictions, but also two chapters that look at legal sex/gender changes from a Christian perspective, and one chapter from a medical-psychological perspective. The final chapter compares and contrasts the different approaches and requirements and makes recommendations for best practice and law reform.

The increase in prevalence and visibility of sexually gender diverse (SGD) populations illuminates the need for greater understanding of the ways in which current laws, systems, and programs affect their well-being. Individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, asexual, transgender, non-binary, queer, or intersex, as well as those who express same-sex or -gender attractions or behaviors, will have experiences across their life course that differ from those of cisgender and heterosexual individuals. Characteristics such as age, race and ethnicity, and geographic location intersect to play a distinct role in the challenges and opportunities SGD people face. Understanding the Well-Being of LGBTQI+ Populations reviews the available evidence and identifies future research needs related to the well-being of SDG populations across the life course. This report focuses on eight domains of well-being; the effects of various laws and the legal system on SGD populations; the effects of various public policies and structural stigma; community and civic engagement; families and social relationships; education, including school climate and level of attainment; economic experiences (e.g., employment, compensation, and housing); physical and mental health; and health care access and gender-affirming interventions. The recommendations of Understanding the Well-Being of LGBTQI+ Populations aim to identify opportunities to advance understanding of how individuals experience sexuality and gender and how sexual orientation, gender identity, and intersex status affect SGD people over the life course.

"This report examines the physical and psychological damage caused by medically unnecessary surgery on intersex people, who are born with chromosomes, gonads, sex organs, or genitalia that differ from those seen as socially typical for boys and girls. The report examines the controversy over the operations inside the medical community, and the pressure on parents to opt for surgery"--Publisher's description.

This renowned history of intersex in America has been comprehensively updated to reflect recent shifts in attitudes, bioethics, and medical and legal practices. In Bodies in Doubt, Elizabeth Reis traces the changing definitions, perceptions, and medical management of intersex (atypical sex development) in America from the colonial period to the present. Arguing that medical practice must be understood within its broader cultural context, Reis demonstrates how deeply physicians have been influenced by social anxieties about marriage, heterosexuality, and same-sex desire throughout American history In this second edition, Reis adds two new chapters, a new preface, and a revised introduction to assess recent dramatic shifts in attitudes, bioethics, and medical and legal practices. Human rights organizations have declared early genital surgeries a form of torture and abuse, but doctors continue to offer surgical "repair," and parents continue to seek it for their children. While many are hearing the human rights call, controversies persist, and Reis explains why best practices in this field remain fiercely contested.