-
Gender and the anti – discrimination commission
There is probably already a forum for this but I am posting it as new topic.
I received this from a support group that I am a member of. I thought that I would share it with others.“Have a look see and check out your rights!
Although they do no make direct mention of “intersex” in their terminology they do make the following definition of gender identity:gender identity means:
(a) the identification, on a genuine basis, by a person of one sex
as a member of the other sex (whether or not the person is
recognised as such):
(i) by assuming characteristics of the other sex, whether by
means of medical intervention, style of dressing or
otherwise; or
(ii) by living, or seeking to live, as a member of the other
sex; or
(b) the identification, on a genuine basis, by a person of
indeterminate sex as a member of a particular sex (whether or
not the person is recognised as such):
(i) by assuming characteristics of that sex, whether by
means of medical intervention, style of dressing or
otherwise; or
(ii) by living, or seeking to live, as a member of that sex.” -
1 Reply
-
The definition of gender identity is perhaps easier to read with the original indenting which I have tried to reproduce below (granted it is difficult to achieve)…
gender identity means:
(a) the identification, on a genuine basis, by a person of one sex as a member of the other sex (whether or not the person is recognised as such):
[ul](i) by assuming characteristics of the other sex, whether by means of medical intervention, style of dressing or otherwise; or
(ii) by living, or seeking to live, as a member of the other sex;
[/ul] or
(b) the identification, on a genuine basis, by a person of indeterminate sex as a member of a particular sex (whether or not the person is recognised as such):
[ul](i) by assuming characteristics of that sex, whether by means of medical intervention, style of dressing or otherwise; or
(ii) by living, or seeking to live, as a member of that sex.
[/ul]
I’m not sure why exactly the thread was started in the Inter-gender issues – but the issue I see is that it completely fails to acknowledge that anyone can associate with a non-binary gender.
The consequence, I presume (as I don’t have the time to wade through 200+ pages of legislation), is a lack of protection from discrimination.To understand what I mean look at the language used.
Part a) allows you to identify as a “member of the other sex”.
Part b) allows you to identify as a particular sex if your actual sex is indeterminate.By linking gender to sex in this way, it forces the only acceptable gender identities to be male or female.
A quick search shows that the issue has been raised during the discussion process. For instance a submission from TransGender Victoria states
Quote:We believe that the definition of gender identity needs to expressly cover gender expression as discrimination against (for example) masculine females and feminine men, frequently has overlap with discrimination against transgender people.I’m not sure exactly what TransGender Victoria means by transgender! But would appear that such comments were not made forcefully enough, because I see no such shades of grey in the definition.
One day, I hope that the loudest voices from our community will not be a minority speaking from a background of binary gender.
Whilst I support any moves to reduce discrimination against those who choose to assume the characteristics of another sex (by whatever means) I am uncomfortable if this is achieved by reducing or ignoring the rights of the rest of the community.