Haters Propose Initiative To Regulate Where Gender Non-Conforming People Can Pee

Now that heterosexual supremacists and religious fundamentalists have realized they have lost the culture war completely on the question of marriage equality they are moving on to other issues, like "religious freedom" and protecting people who believe they have a constitutional right to deny services and public accommodations to other people due to their "sincerely held beliefs" about marriage. Oh and proposing ballot measures to require executions of homosexuals.

One of these issues the homophobic conservative right is pivoting to is about gender-nonconforming people and bathrooms. You think LGBT people are interested in the genitals of other people? We are nowhere as interested as the Pacific Justice Institute, which is so obsessed with the issue they want to have a multi-million dollar ballot campaign in the heat of a presidential campaign to discuss the politics and biology of sex and gender. What could go wrong, right?

They have filed the "Personal Privacy Protection Act" with the California Attorney General which would amend the California code to include the language:

 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a person shall use facilities in accordance with their biological sex in all government buildings. 

So, yes, basically they want to make sure that only people with the "right" plumbing get to pee in the right places. Why do they care? Because they want to demonize people they do not like as predators.
This issue of gender-neutral bathrooms enrages (and befuddles) me because isn't it everyone's experience at home that all bathrooms can be used by all people of any gender? Why shouldn't that be the case in public? Why shouldn't ALL bathrooms be private? The idea of "group" bathrooms (i.e. urinals) is the atavistic notion that should be abolished, not the idea that people who and gender-nonconforming or transgender have to get the permission of the state to determine which bathroom to use in a public bathroom. That is insanity. They are convinced that sex is a binary despite all evidence to the contrary that not only is SEX not binary, neither is GENDER. However, they want to put into state law a definition of biological sex that reads:

 Biological sex means the biological condition of being male or female as determined at or near the time of birth or through medical examination or as modified by Health & Safety Code § 103425. 

But what happens if someone's sex is indeterminate (intersexuals) or someone's sex NOW is different from what their sex was determined to be "at or near the time of birth"? I guess no public bathroom for you, if the PPPA is passed by California voters.

One of the proponents of the measure named Kevin Snider is quoted in the Los Angeles Times claims that people who don't believe in the "biological reality of two sexes" are "science deniers." I would definitely put myself in the camp of many people who think there may be atleast five sexes! I think Mr. Snider needs to read up on the latest scientific research on the nature of sex and gender:

Sex can be much more complicated than it at first seems. According to the simple scenario, the presence or absence of a Y chromosome is what counts: with it, you are male, and without it, you are female. But doctors have long known that some people straddle the boundary — their sex chromosomes say one thing, but their gonads (ovaries or testes) or sexual anatomy say another. Parents of children with these kinds of conditions — known as intersex conditions, or differences or disorders of sex development (DSDs) — often face difficult decisions about whether to bring up their child as a boy or a girl. Some researchers now say that as many as 1 person in 100 has some form of DSD.

But, sure, let's have a conversation about which side is denying science and data. Spoiler alert, it is not going to be the group which thinks that sexual orientation can be changed by "therapy."

High Court of Australia Recognizes 3rd Sex Category (Neither Male Nor Female)

Interesting and important news out of Australia relating to LGBT people. Apparently the High Court of Australia ruled just over a month ago that a person does NOT have to be registered by the state as either male or female, but can be listed as a 3rd "non-specific" sex by the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages.

Australia Broadcasting Corporation reported the news:

A Sydney resident who fought to be legally recognised as being of non-specific sex has hailed a High Court ruling that New South Wales laws do permit the registration of a category of sex other than male or female. 

Norrie was born male but had a sex change and now does not identify as specifically male or female. 

After a four-year legal battle, Norrie has won the right to be legally recognised as being of non-specific sex. 

Norrie, who had been quietly confident of winning the case, says the historic verdict is a big win for the wider transgender community. 

"I screamed a squeal of delight. Very loudly. It's very thrilling, very exciting," Norrie said. 

"I'm overjoyed that it has happened. It's important for people to have equal rights in society and if some people are granted the right to have their sex and certain benefits that go along with that, then why shouldn't everyone have that right? 

"Why should people be left out because they're not seen as male or female? They should be recognised as whatever they are and allowed to participate in society at an equal level."

This is a great development, and following a similar ruling by the India High Court in the last month is an indication that the idea that sex and gender are not binary phenomena is starting to gain traction among the international judiciary.

One reason why this is important for LGBT people is because the primary mechanism by which gender and sex roles are maintained and regulated is through the imputation of homosexuality. One primary example of where gender registrations are directly related to the rights and responsibilities of citizens is in the context of marriage. Thus the fact that more and more countries are recognizing

the true nature of gender and sex is exciting. 

Germany Legalizes 3rd Gender Option, Rejects Sex Binary

The notion that sex, along with gender, consists of more than just two categories is gathering more and more traction with the news that Germany is authorizing a third category in the sex registration of new-born babies with indeterminate sex characteristics. Such individuals are usually referred to as intersex, but there is a long, unfortunate history of the medical profession forcing parents to choose what sex they want their newborn to be identified as and conducting surgery (sometimes without their knowledge) to force them into one sex category or another.

Germany is to become the first European country to allow “undetermined” as a gender type for new-born babies when, on November 1, a recommendation by the country’s constitutional court comes into law. 

The new legislation means that babies who are born without gender-defining physical characteristics can be registered as having an “undetermined” or “unspecified” gender on their birth certificate.

The law aims to redress discrimination against intersex people, a category which includes those born with both female and male genitalia (formerly known as hermaphrodites), and those affected by medical conditions that mean their bodies do not conform to a male or female “standard”. Around 1 in 5,000 people born in Europe identify as intersex.

Although only 1 in 5000 people in Europe identify as intersex the deconstruction of the sex binary also leads to the deconstruction of the gender binary which is helpful to people who believe in broader notions of masculinity and femininity (like yours truly) and associated ideas around sexual orientation, sexuality and gender identity.

The decrease in the salience of the idea that sex and gender are binaries is a key indicator that people are thinking more broadly about these categories which should lead to advancements for LGBT people as well. So, it' somewhat surprising to see that this advancement would happen in Germany which is one of the few large European countries which does not currently recognize marriage equality explicitly.

Celebrity Friday: Caster Semenya

Caster Semenya is back in the news because the International Association of Athletics Federations has finally resolved her case and decided that the gender non-conforming (and rumored intersexed) athletic track star can compete in women's events in the future.

"Two Spirits" Movie About LGBT Native Americans

One of my students alerted me to the trailer for the very interesting film about Native American "two-spirited" people, which is the word used to describe people who have both masculine and feminine traits. Generally, we think of such people as part of the LGBT community. The film is called Two Spirits and the trailer is below:


UPDATE FRI 12/18/2009 09:11AM
I heard yesterday that there will be a special screening of Two Spirits on Thursday March 18th at 7pm at the Japanese American National Museum in downtown LA by the Red Circle Project, a Native American HIV/AIDS agency run out of AIDS Project Los Angeles. I plan on attending and seeing this interesting documentary!

Caster Semenya Will Keep Gold Medal

Caster Semenya will keep her gold medal, according to several published reports, including in The New York Times:

In a statement posted on the Web, the South African Sports Ministry said that it had reached this deal with the International Association of Athletics Federations, or I.A.A.F.:

Because Caster has been found to be innocent of any wrong, she will then –
• Retain her gold medal
• Retain her title of 800m World Champions
• Retain her prize money.

We have also agreed with the I.A.A.F. that whatever scientific tests were conducted legally within the I.A.A.F. regulations will be treated as a confidential matter between patient and doctor. As such there will be no public announcement of what the panel of scientists has found. We urge all South Africans and other people to respect this professional ethical and moral way of doing things.

The implications of the scientific findings on Caster’s health and life going forward will be analyzed by Caster and she will make her own decision on her future.

Reuters reported that “The I.A.A.F. said it could not confirm the details in the statement but said it had accepted the resignation of Athletics South Africa (A.S.A.) President Leonard Chuene from the I.A.A.F. Council and had opened a formal investigation into the handling of the Semenya affair by Chuene and A.S.A.”

The Times goes on to discuss the more interesting question of sex/gender and genetic rarities in sports, publishing this insightful comment:

Last month, The Times published an article by Alice Dreger, a professor of clinical medical humanities and bioethics at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, in which she looked at some of the issues involved. Ms. Dreger wrote:

The current policies of the International Association of Athletics Federations are vague, incomplete and contradictory. For example, one states that some women with some male-typical aspects (including, in some cases, a Y chromosome and testes) can play as women, but it doesn’t specify which combinations disqualify an athlete. This means a woman like Semenya can’t really know for sure, in advance of competition, if she should show up.

The I.A.A.F. requires that transsexual women have their hormone levels kept female-typical through removal of the testes and ingestion of female-typical hormones.

Fair enough. But it allows born-females with adrenal tumors to compete as women, even though their bodies may have higher levels of testosterone than the average male. Not too consistent.

Update | 12:53 p.m. A reader named Kahla writes with this comment:

This “controversy” illuminates a double standard with respect to sex/gender as against other genetic rarities in sports. In one case, a female athlete, who may (or may not — as it remains unconfirmed) have male attributes due to a genetic rarity, could be denied the ability to compete in future matches because of the perceived unfair advantage that follows from it. Yet, where rare genetic traits do not implicate concerns over the proper gender assignment of the sports participant, such disqualifications are not contemplated, much less fathomable. A rare genetic trait (Marfan’s Syndrome) gives swimmer Michael Phelps a competitive edge and he is revered as the greatest swimmer of all time rather than investigated and subjected to genetic testing. Moreover, no discussion of disqualification from future matches ensues. Understandably, “gender testing” is unlikely to disappear from sports (and perhaps shouldn’t for numerous reasons not relevant here). But, these two cases illustrate that our fastidious adherence to rigid categorical distinctions between the sexes lends to disparities in the treatment of individuals whose genetics do not match with these predefined, and some would argue socially constructed, sex/gender categories.

Fascinating!

Caster Semenya Reported To Be Intersex

Rod 2.0 and Joe.My.God are both reporting that South African track & field phenom Caster Semenya who won the 800m gold medal in Berlin last month has been revealed to be intersex. There has been an ongoing controversy and public furor over the supposed "gender testing" of the South African athlete due to her curiously "gender inappropriate" physique and appearance. Now, the reasons have been discovered:

Tests conducted during the world athletics championships in Berlin last month, where Semenya's gender became the subject of heated debate following her victory in the 800m, revealed evidence she is a hermaphrodite, someone with both male and female sexual characteristics.

Semenya, 18, has three times the amount of testosterone that a "normal'' female would have. According to a source closely involved with the Semenya examinations IAAF testing, which included various scans, has revealed she has internal testes - the male sexual organs which produce testosterone.

[...]

When quizzed by South African magazine You on the gender issue, Semenya said: "I see it all as a joke, it doesn't upset me. God made me the way I am and I accept myself. I am who I am and I'm proud of myself. I don't want to talk about the tests - I'm not even thinking about them.''

The use of the word "hermaphrodite" to describe people with both male and female biological characteristics is considered offensive, similar to the use of the word "homosexual" to describe people sexually attracted to people of the same sex. Joe.My.God has posted useful information on the topic from the Intersex Society of North America:

RELATED: The Intersex Society of North America notes that although the term "hermaphrodite" is commonly used to describe intersex people (and this is already happening with Semenya), hermaphrodite literally means "fully male and fully female," which is a physical impossibility. "Intersex" is the proper way to describe a person who may have one or several of a very broad range of atypical gender characteristics, ranging from ambiguous or mixed external genitalia, internal conditions (as in Semenya's case), or an atypical chromosonal makeup. Some intersex characteristics are extremely rare, others occur much more frequently, and studies indicate that some aspect of being intersex occurs in about 1 out of 100 people.