Sex and gender recognition (page 7 of 8)

For an introduction to these issues, see our page on identification documents

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Intersex and the Sex Files: good for trans*, bad for intersex

OII Australia supports trans people in their call for human rights, in the same way we support all LGBTI peoples and other marginalized minorities. Sometimes, however, rights called for by one minority group can disadvantage another unless close strategic alliances are maintained so that proposed changes to the law do not accidentally impinge on rights….
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an open eye

Australian Human Rights Commission releases 2011 consultation report

The Australian Human Rights Commission 2011 consultative report Addressing sexual orientation and sex and/or gender identity discrimination is a landmark report. The inclusion of intersex people in this report indicates how crucial it is for us to directly engage with government and its agencies in seeking equality and human rights for intersex people. No nation…
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an open eye with eyelashes above it

Australian Human Rights Commission consultation: terminology

Dear all Thank you very much for your contribution to the Commission’s brief consultation regarding the terminology used to describe people with a range of sex identities and gender identities. The majority of responses we received supported some means of separating issues relating to sexual orientation from those relating to sex and/or gender identity and…
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Sydney Morning Herald on the recognition of non-specific gender

The Sydney Morning Herald yesterday carried a story by Steve Dow on Norrie’s campaign for “legal recognition as a person of no specified sex”. Born male and transitioned to female, before choosing a middle path, the article presents Norrie’s personal journey. OII Australia believes that anyone should be able to choose a “not specified” sex…
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Hospital - stock photo courtesy of Freepik

WPATH disorders intersex while depathologizing transgender

From the ‘Response of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health to the Proposed DSM 5 Criteria for Gender Incongruence’: (4) Adding a specifier of “with or without a Disorder of Sex Development” is an improvement over the need to use the “Not Otherwise Specified” diagnosis because individuals with intersex conditions may have a similar…
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a newspaper

Star Observer: Norrie may well be the first of their kind

Gina Wilson is quoted in this article about the impact of a third sex classification on intersex infants and children: SAGE said the decision was also a win for intersex children who might be registered as ‘Sex Not Specified’ until they decided what sex was right for them. However, Gina Wilson of Organisation Internationale des…
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a newspaper

Sydney Morning Herald: “Sexless in the city: a gender revolution”

Trans person Norrie is in the news: A spokeswoman for the Attorney-General’s department confirmed it was the first such certificate to state non-specified gender, and that even intersex children have their sex determined within weeks of birth. A Catholic ethicist, Nicholas Tonti-Filippini from the John Paul II Institute, said birth certificates should also record no…
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On intersex birth registrations

Intersex people in several Australian are able to obtain an administrative correction of intersex birth registrations, including correction to alternative male, female, or (in some cases) blank designation.

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Signs of reform in the Australian Passport Office

We are pleased to report that the Australian Passport Office, in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, has made first steps in reforming its practices in relation to what it calls ‘sex and gender diverse’ people. We thank them for this. It should be noted, though that DFAT’s new position is essentially a return…
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On a third sex

The creation of any new category to be designated intersex poses several problems.