An interesting page is the one on Current inquiries | A.C.T. Department of Justice and Community Safety
Thu, 17 Mar 2011 10:20:10 +1100The latter is worth reading in its entirety. It affects me personally, and I hope that it is adopted in toto. I'll be doing what I can to see that it is.
Transgender rights & legal recognition
The ACT Attorney General, Simon Corbell MLA, formally referred the issue of transgender legal recognition to the Law Reform Advisory Council for consideration in 2011. Mr Corbell asked the Council for detailed advice on whether any changes to the Territory’s current law are needed to ensure the protection of human rights.
The Council will provide opportunities for public comment as it undertakes the inquiry. Further updates and information will be posted on this website.
The terms of reference for the Council's latest inquiry are available online here:
LRAC Terms of Refence 2011 - transgender rights & recognition
As part of its inquiry, the Council will consider advice by the Human Rights Commission on the current state of ACT law. The advice reviews the requirements for registering a change of sex under the Births, Deaths, & Marriages Registration Act 1997, and includes some recommendations for legislative reform. The advice is available at the link below:
Human Rights Commission - Advice on gender identity
Why?
As far as I can tell, my legal sex is:
- UK Public Records Office - Male since 1958. This cannot be changed under current UK law
- UK Passport Office - Female since May 2006, before then male.
- Commonwealth Medicare - (Intersexed) Female since October 2005, before then male
- Commonwealth Immigration - Female since August 2006, before then male
- Commonwealth Passport Office - Female since November(?) 2007, before then male
- ACT Registrar of BDM - Male since name change August 2005, before then, no statement. This cannot be changed under current ACT law.
- Other ACT - no idea, though if they asked my OB/Gyn, she'd have some strong opinions on the subject.
Under current law, if my partner died, in Australia I could only marry a man, as same-sex marriage is forbidden. In the UK, I could only marry another woman, as same-sex marriage is forbidden there too.
I've not actually given any medical evidence to any Government, UK, Commonwealth, or ACT, of my genital configuration, and don't intend to do so.
I still have a UK Birth Certificate saying "boy" as I am Intersexed, and that precludes a diagnosis of Transsexuality, a necessary requirement for granting a Gender Recognition Certificate unless there is formal recognition of a different sex by the ACT (but not the Commonwealth).
Should I gain such recognition, I'd still have a problem under the UK Gender Recognition Act as we're still married, but one step at a time.
12 comments:
Of course you're "trans". Being intersexed, if that is indeed what you are, doesn't exclude (nor include) you from being "trans." You know as well as I do that most intersex people are quite content with their assigned sex and are no more apt to be either gay or "trans" than anyone else. Why do you insist on using intersex as an apology for being transsexual? You may be intersex but you are most certainly "trans."
Take that up with the WHO and the ICD-10:
Transsexualism (F64.0) has three criteria:
1. The desire to live and be accepted as a member of the opposite sex, usually accompanied by the wish to make his or her body as congruent as possible with the preferred sex through surgery and hormone treatment
2. The transsexual identity has been present persistently for at least two years
3. The disorder is not a symptom of another mental disorder or a chromosomal abnormality
I'm excluded by criterion #3.
The rate of "gender issues" in the general population is about 1 in 3000.
The rate amongst Intersexed people is more like 1 in 10, often due to them being surgically assigned the wrong sex when young.
You're right when you say that most IS people don't have them; wrong when you say that there's no greater rate than in the general population.
The WHO??? Geeez...
There is link after link after link on the net by experts in the field that say (1) most who are intersex have no idea they are intersex, (2) the vast majority of those who are intersex are perfectly content in their birth assigned sex/gender and are no more prone to wanting to change their birth assigned gender than anyone else. Few who are intersex are so anatomically intersex that they undergo surgery in infancy. In spite of most intersex conditions being chromosomal and not anatomical, many endocrinologists don't even consider chromosomal abnormalities in and of itself intersex at all. Surely you know this...in lieu of all of the research you've done you have to know this.
Being intersexed does not predispose one to want to change their sex.
You saying you are not "trans" because you are intersex is tantamount to me saying I'm not "trans" because I'm not intersexed.
WHO - World Health Organisation, not the band.
If you prefer, look at the DSM-IV-TR instead, the diagnostic criteria for GID Code 302.85
# A strong and persistent cross-gender identification (not merely a desire for any perceived cultural advantages of being the other sex). In adolescents and adults, the disturbance is manifested by symptoms such as a stated desire to be the other sex, frequent passing as the other sex, desire to live or be treated as the other sex, or the conviction that he or she has the typical feelings and reactions of the other sex.
# Persistent discomfort with his or her sex or sense of inappropriateness in the gender role of that sex. In adolescents and adults, the disturbance is manifested by symptoms such as preoccupation with getting rid of primary and secondary sex characteristics (e.g., request for hormones, surgery, or other procedures to physically alter sexual characteristics to simulate the other sex) or belief that he or she was born the wrong sex.
# The disturbance is not concurrent with a physical intersex condition.
# The disturbance causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.
As for numbers, ISNA lists: Total number of people receiving surgery to “normalize” genital appearance - one or two in 1,000 births
Or about 1 in 10 of those with an Intersex condition.
1 in 10 of those with 46XX CAH identify as male - and are often brought up that way. Figures from AISSGA also state that about 1 in 10 AIS people have "gender issues".
You are correct that some psychologists (NOT endocrinologists!) - notably Leonard Sax say "A definition of intersex which encompasses individuals who are phenotypically indistinguishable from normal is likely to confuse both clinicians and patients." but this is an ontological debate about words, not a medical one. (Journal of Sex Research, August, 2002)
I assure you I absolutely know what WHO stands for, Zoe...but continue with the snarky jabs if you like.
ISNA says that that 1:1500 to 1:2000 births comprise all intersex births...yet also says that 1 or 2:1000 require surgery to normalize genital appearance. Even you should see this makes no sense...aside from simply being a guess. When John Hopkins did a study of all intersex surgeries done at their facility they list as one of the "most striking findings" was "1. the relatively small numbers of patients who actually underwent the more controversial procedures even in one of the largest centers in the world." This is what the II (II stands for Intersex Initiative) had to say about the ISNA figures, which I'm sure you know are based on Fausto-Sterling's inflated figures:
"The next highest figure, 1.7%, also comes from Fausto-Sterling. But this includes many conditions that are not considered intersex by many physicians. The major weakness of this figure is that close to 90% of it is made up of a single condition, LOCAH, which most doctors do not consider intersex. LOCAH is a milder form of CAH or congenital adrenal hyperplasia, and people born with LOCAH have ordinary male or female genitalia. (Contrary to popular belief, males can have CAH--it's just that only females with CAH are considered intersex, and even then that's not all females with CAH)."
Leonard Sax, is a medical doctor whose undergraduate degree was in biology...though he has a Ph.D. in psychology there is nothing to indicate he ever practiced psychology or that his views and research on the intersex are based on it.
And, yes, many endocrinologists (probably psychologist too) don't see chromosomal abnormalities per se as intersex conditions. The debate has nothing to do with ontology. Please tell me you know that and were just kidding.
But, more to the point, none of what you write changes the fact that (1) most who are intersex have no idea they are intersex, (2) the vast majority of those who are intersex are perfectly content in their birth assigned sex/gender and are no more prone to wanting to change their birth assigned gender than anyone else. Few who are intersex are so anatomically intersex that they undergo sex reassignment surgery in infancy.
With your history written on this site, saying you are intersex not transsexual is plain wrong. People who are intersex have no predisposition to changing their sex...those who do qualify as being IS under some broad brush definition yet are chormosomally and phenotypically male with otherwise normal genitalia and who do have GRS are most definitely transsexual. That would be you, Zoe, if what you have written about yourself is true.
I've listed a few links here so that you can brush up on your facts and keep abreast...although I know that you are most invested in your position of being intersex and not "trans" and are not apt to be persuaded by the science and research of the experts.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2372/is_3_39/ai_94130313/pg_7/?tag=content;col1
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:7kSgtRWyCNwJ:oiiaustralia.com/725/intersex-michelle-obrien/+Intersex+medical+Definition&cd=42&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&source=www.google.com
http://www.intersexinitiative.org/academia/stephanie.html
http://www.apa.org/topics/sexuality/intersex.aspx#
Refusing to post my comment doesn't make it true.
Blame blogger, not me. I do ex-post-facto moderation of spam, that's all.
I'll re-post for you, as I *do* get a copy in my e-mail even if Blogger filters it aitomatically. Might split it into several parts, Blogger doesn't like multiple URLs in comments. That may be the problem.
Susan has left a new comment on your post "Trans Related Law Reform in the ACT":
I assure you I absolutely know what WHO stands for, Zoe...but continue with the snarky jabs if you like.
ISNA says that that 1:1500 to 1:2000 births comprise all intersex births...yet also says that 1 or 2:1000 require surgery to normalize genital appearance. Even you should see this makes no sense...aside from simply being a guess. When John Hopkins did a study of all intersex surgeries done at their facility they list as one of the "most striking findings" was "1. the relatively small numbers of patients who actually underwent the more controversial procedures even in one of the largest centers in the world." This is what the II (II stands for Intersex Initiative) had to say about the ISNA figures, which I'm sure you know are based on Fausto-Sterling's inflated figures:
"The next highest figure, 1.7%, also comes from Fausto-Sterling. But this includes many conditions that are not considered intersex by many physicians. The major weakness of this figure is that close to 90% of it is made up of a single condition, LOCAH, which most doctors do not consider intersex. LOCAH is a milder form of CAH or congenital adrenal hyperplasia, and people born with LOCAH have ordinary male or female genitalia. (Contrary to popular belief, males can have CAH--it's just that only females with CAH are considered intersex, and even then that's not all females with CAH)."
Leonard Sax, is a medical doctor whose undergraduate degree was in biology...though he has a Ph.D. in psychology there is nothing to indicate he ever practiced psychology or that his views and research on the intersex are based on it.
And, yes, many endocrinologists (probably psychologist too) don't see chromosomal abnormalities per se as intersex conditions. The debate has nothing to do with ontology. Please tell me you know that and were just kidding.
But, more to the point, none of what you write changes the fact that (1) most who are intersex have no idea they are intersex, (2) the vast majority of those who are intersex are perfectly content in their birth assigned sex/gender and are no more prone to wanting to change their birth assigned gender than anyone else. Few who are intersex are so anatomically intersex that they undergo sex reassignment surgery in infancy.
With your history written on this site, saying you are intersex not transsexual is plain wrong. People who are intersex have no predisposition to changing their sex...those who do qualify as being IS under some broad brush definition yet are chormosomally and phenotypically male with otherwise normal genitalia and who do have GRS are most definitely transsexual. That would be you, Zoe, if what you have written about yourself is true.
I've listed a few links here so that you can brush up on your facts and keep abreast...although I know that you are most invested in your position of being intersex and not "trans" and are not apt to be persuaded by the science and research of the experts.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2372/is_3_39/ai_94130313/pg_7/?tag=content;col1
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:7kSgtRWyCNwJ:oiiaustralia.com/725/intersex-michelle-obrien/+Intersex+medical+Definition&cd=42&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&source=www.google.com
(contd)
http://www.intersexinitiative.org/academia/stephanie.html
http://www.apa.org/topics/sexuality/intersex.aspx#
Reply:
See Intersex is as natural as oatmeal showing Sax's figures don't match up with recorded rates in female athletes.
If someone says that Coroline Cossey, 48XXXY and partial feminisation before transition is not Intersexed enough to count, they're playing political games.
For example, Susan, here's the Christian Institute on the matter, distorting, omitting inconvenient facts and misleading just so they can prove people like you are really Insane.
I should mention I disagree with them, on the evidence. It does no harm to state the obvious sometimes.
May I suggest you read 5 Sexes Revisited?
Fausto-Sterling didn't just make up that 1.7% figure. It's a ballpark estimate of those departing from the "Platonic Ideal" of M and F.
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