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Genders that Don’t Matter: Non-Binary People and the Gender Recognition Act 2004

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The Queer Outside in Law

Part of the book series: Palgrave Socio-Legal Studies ((PSLS))

Abstract

In July 2017, the UK government committed to “streamlining” the process for a legal change of gender in England and Wales. At present, the legal recognition of a change of gender is conditional upon applicants submitting two detailed medical reports certifying their diagnosis with “gender dysphoria”, as well as a number of documents that attest to the “permanence” of their so-called “new” gender. In addition, legal recognition is limited to those applicants who identify—at least for the purpose of the application process—with a binary system of sex/gender. Drawing on comparable legal frameworks, this chapter will consider the limitations of the current legal framework regarding non-binary people, as well as the potential changes proposed more recently.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    I am using “trans” rather than “transgender” or “transsexual” to accommodate a variety of identity categories that may not necessarily align with a binary understanding of sex and gender, encompassing identities such as genderqueer and agender more readily than the medically defined “transsexual”. However, while some intersex people may identify as trans, intersex is generally used to describe a variety of bodily configurations that combine features that are normally considered solely “male” or “female”. For a fuller exploration of the legal regulation of intersex experiences in the UK, see Garland and Travis (Chapter 7). I am using this here as a distinct term to reflect, in particular, the differential legal treatment for both groups of people.

  2. 2.

    I am using non-binary to capture a variety of identities that do not align with a binary understanding of sex/gender.

  3. 3.

    See e.g. Zowie Davy, Recognizing Transsexuals: Personal, Political and Medicolegal Embodiment (Burlington: Ashgate, 2012); Sally Hines, Gender Diversity, Recognition and Citizenship: Towards a Politics of Difference (London and New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013); Tam Sanger, Trans People’s Partnerships: Towards an Ethics of Intimacy (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010).

  4. 4.

    Sarah Hughes, “Transparent Season One Is Free for a Day—Here’s Why You Should Watch It” The Guardian, January 23, 2015, accessed April 20, 2015, http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/jan/23/transparent-season-one-free-on-amazon-for-a-day.

  5. 5.

    Katy Steinmetz, “The Transgender Tipping Point” Time Magazine, May 29, 2014, accessed May 1 2018, http://time.com/135480/transgender-tipping-point/.

  6. 6.

    While sex and gender are commonly understood as distinct concepts, with sex referring primarily to biological factors and gender being used to describe the social and cultural interpretation of these factors, in the context of legal regulation these two concepts are often either conflated (see e.g. R [on the application of Christie Elan-Cane] and Secretary of State for the Home Department [2018] EWHC 1530 [Admin] para. 96) or, because of linguistic and cultural reasons, do not exist with the same level of distinction in other jurisdictions. Therefore, I will be using sex/gender as an umbrella term to capture this ambiguity.

  7. 7.

    See, e.g. Niraj Chokshi, “Canada Introduces ‘X’ as a Third Sex Category for Passport Holders”, August 25, 2017, accessed December 1, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/25/world/ameri-cas/rkans-passport-x.html. Curtis M Wong, “Arkansas Has Been Offering a Nonbinary Gender Option on State IDs for Years” HUFFINGTON POST, October 17, 2018, accessed December 1, 2018, https://www.huffingtonpost.com/en-try/rkansas-gender-neutral-state-id-option_us_5bc79f75e4b0d38b5874a669; Australian Government, Australian Government Guidelines on the Recognition of Sex and Gender. Commonwealth of Australia, July 2013. Bundesministerium des Innern, für Bau und Heimat. 2018. Entwurf eines Gesetzes zur Änderung der in das Geburtenregister einzutragenden Angaben. Berlin.

  8. 8.

    See also Jessica Calrke, “They, Them and Theirs” Harvard Law Review 132, no 3 (2019): 894.

  9. 9.

    Lena Holzer, Non-Binary Gender Registration Models in Europe: Report on Third Gender Marker or No Gender Marker Options (ILGA Europe, 2018).

  10. 10.

    See, e.g. Corbett v Corbett [1971] p. 83; Bellinger v Bellinger [2003] 2 AC 467.

  11. 11.

    See, e.g. Alex Sharpe, “Endless Sex: The Gender Recognition Act 2004 and the Persistence of a Legal Category” Feminist Legal Studies 15, no 1 (2007):57–84; Stephen Whittle, “The Opposite of Sex Is Politics—The UK Gender Recognition Act and Why It Is Not Perfect, Just Like You and Me: FORUM” Journal of Gender Studies 15, no 3 (2006): 267–271.

  12. 12.

    See, e.g. Alex Sharpe, “Gender Recognition in the UK: A Great Leap Forward” Social & Legal Studies 18, no 2 (2009):241–245. Under s. 7 of the Equality Act 2010, an individual can benefit from the “gender reassignment” protected characteristics irrespective of whether they have obtained a Gender Recognition Certificate.

  13. 13.

    Corbett v Corbett (Otherwise Ashley) (No 1) [1971] 2 All ER 33.

  14. 14.

    Goodwin v United Kingdom (28957/95) [2002] Fam. Law 738.

  15. 15.

    See, e.g. Sharon Cowan, “‘That Woman Is a Woman!’ The Case of Bellinger v. Bellinger and the Mysterious (Dis) Appearance of Sex: Bellinger v. Bellinger [2003] 2 All ER 593; [2003] FCR 1; [2003] 2 WLR 1174; [2003] UKHL 21”, Feminist Legal Studies 12, no 1 (2004): 79–92; Flora Renz, “The Gender Recognition Act 2004 and Transgender People’s Legal Consciousness” (Ph.D., Kent Law School, University of Kent, 2017).

  16. 16.

    On 22 April 2020, the Minister for Women and Equalities, Liz Truss MP, advised the Commons Select Committee on Women and Equalities that she would be setting out the government’s proposals for reforming the GRA in the summer 2020. On 22 September 2020, Truss announced that the Government would not recommend substantive changes to the requirements for obtaining a Gender Recognition Certificate. 

  17. 17.

    See also, Sharon Cowan (Chapter 8 in this edited collection).

  18. 18.

    While it was possible to change some ID documents prior to the introduction of the GRA, in practice the availability of this option was often inconsistent and reliant on the discretion of officials.

  19. 19.

    Although this is the language of the GRA, I will not use it in this chapter as it does not align with the self-understanding of most trans people regarding their sex/gender.

  20. 20.

    Sections 3–4 Gender Recognition Act 2004. On the difficulties of enforcing the permanence requirement, see Emily Grabham, “Governing Permanence: Trans Subjects, Time, and the Gender Recognition Act”, Social & Legal Studies 19, no 1 (2010): 107–126.

  21. 21.

    HM Courts & Tribunal Service. (November 2016) T450—Application for a Gender Recognition Certificate.

  22. 22.

    Ibid., p. 6.

  23. 23.

    House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee. 2016. Transgender Equality. House of Commons London: The Stationery Office Limited.

  24. 24.

    Ibid., p. 79.

  25. 25.

    Ibid., pp. 79–80.

  26. 26.

    see e.g. Titia F. Beek et al., “Partial Treatment Requests and Underlying Motives of Applicants for Gender Affirming Interventions” The Journal of Sexual Medicine 12, (11) (2015): 2201–2205; Arlene Istar Lev, “Gender Dysphoria: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back” Clinical Social Work Journal 41, no. 3 (2013): 288–296; Ben Vincent and Ana Manzanzo. “History and Cultural Diversity”. In Genderqueer and Non-Binary Genders, edited by Christina Richards, Walter Pierre Bouman and Meg-John Barker (London: Palgrave, 2017).

  27. 27.

    House of Lords. January 29, 2004. “Gender Recognition Bill”. 656 (31); House of Lords. June 24, 2013. “Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill—Committee (3rd Day)”. 746 (22).

  28. 28.

    House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee. 2015. Transgender Equality. House of Commons London: The Stationery Office Limited, p. 11.

  29. 29.

    Section 33 and sections 35–39 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008. See also TT, R (On the Application Of) v The Registrar General for England and Wales [2019] EWHC 2384 (Fam) (25 September 2019).

  30. 30.

    House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee. 2016. Transgender Equality. House of Commons London: The Stationery Office Limited, p. 9.

  31. 31.

    Ibid., p. 86.

  32. 32.

    See also Flora Renz, “The Gender Recognition Act 2004 and Transgender People’s Legal Consciousness” (Ph.D., Kent Law School, University of Kent, 2017).

  33. 33.

    On this point see also Davina Cooper, “A Very Binary Drama: The Conceptual Struggle for Gender’s Future” feminists@law 9, no 1 (2019): 1–36; Davina Cooper and Flora Renz, “If the State Decertified Gender, What Might Happen to its Meaning and Value?” Journal of Law & Society 43, no 4 (2016): 483–505.

  34. 34.

    Government Equalities Office. July 2016. Government Response to the Women and Equalities Committee Report on Transgender Equality, pp. 10–11.

  35. 35.

    Government Equalities Office, “New Action to Promote LGBT Equality” (2017), accessed October 2, 2017, https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-action-to-promote-lgbt-equality.

  36. 36.

    Scottish Government, “Review of the Gender Recognition Act 2004 [Consultation]” November 9, 2017, accessed May 5, 2018, http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2017/11/5459. See also Scottish Government, “Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill: Consultation”. December 17, 2019, accessed March 17, 2020. https://www.gov.scot/publications/gender-recognition-reform-scotland-bill-consultation-scottish-government/pages/6/.

  37. 37.

    The Scottish Government. November 2018. Review of the Gender Recognition Act 2004: Analysis of Responses to the Public Consultation Exercise—Report. Edinburgh, p. 81.

  38. 38.

    R (On the Application of Elan-Cane) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2020] EWCA Civ 363. On 10 November 2020, the United Kingdom Supreme Court granted leave to appeal [R (on the application of Elan-Cane) (Appellant) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (Respondent), UKSC 2020/0081].

  39. 39.

    R (on the application of Christie Elan-Cane) and Secretary of State for the Home Department [2018] EWHC 1530 (Admin), para 2–4.

  40. 40.

    Ibid., para 65–67.

  41. 41.

    Ibid., para. 102 cf. Sarah Fenstermaker and Candace West. Doing Gender, Doing Difference: Inequality, Power, and Institutional Change (New York: Routledge, 2013).

  42. 42.

    Ibid., para. 103–108; it is likely that this strategy was chosen as previous cases on gender recognition have focused on and succeeded on this basis.

  43. 43.

    Judith Butler, Precarious Life: The Powers of Mourning and Violence (London and New York: Verso, 2004), p. 32.

  44. 44.

    R (on the application of Christie Elan-Cane) and Secretary of State for the Home Department [2018] EWHC 1530 (Admin), para. 113.

  45. 45.

    Ibid., para. 116.

  46. 46.

    W. Strong, “Transgender N.W.T. Residents Can Now Change Birth Certificates to Reflect Gender” CBC News, July 15, 2017, accessed March 27, 2020, https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/nwt-transgender-legislation-changes-1.4206782.

  47. 47.

    Sam Levin, “‘Huge Validation’: Oregon Becomes First State to Allow Official Third Gender Option” The Guardian, June 15, 2017, accessed October 1, 2017, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jun/15/oregon-third-gender-option-identity-law.

  48. 48.

    Te Tari Taiwhenua/Internal Affairs, “Information about Changing Sex/Gender Identity”, February 15, 2018, accessed March 27, 2020, https://www.passports.govt.nz/what-you-need-to-renew-or-apply-for-a-passport/information/.

  49. 49.

    Australian Government, Australian Government Guidelines on the Recognition of Sex and Gender. Commonwealth of Australia (July 2013).

  50. 50.

    Australian Government: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. N.D, “Sex and Gender Diverse Passport Applicants”, accessed May 15, 2018, https://www.passports.gov.au/passports-explained/how-apply/eligibility-citizenship-and-identity/sex-and-gender-diverse-passport.

  51. 51.

    Norrie is referred to by female pronouns in her submission to the High Court and the judgment notes that she wished to be referred to with female pronouns. As such, this chapter will follow this approach.

  52. 52.

    NSW Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages v. Norrie [2014] Case S273/2013.

  53. 53.

    Ibid., para. 9–11.

  54. 54.

    Ibid., para. 1.

  55. 55.

    Ibid, para. 30.

  56. 56.

    Ibid., para. 36.

  57. 57.

    The BVerfG, likewise, had already acknowledged in previous decisions the right to determine one’s own gender identity within the context of existing (binary) gender options. More recently, the Court has made this right explicit. In a 2008 decision (1 BvL 10/05 (2008)), the Court recognised the existence of a constitutional “right to recognition of one’s self-determined gender identity” (Recht auf Anerkennung der selbstbestimmten geschlechtlichen Identität). See, further, Peter Dunne and Jule Mulder, “Beyond the Binary: Towards a Third Sex Category in Germany?” German Law Journal 19, no 3 (2018): 627–648.

  58. 58.

    Die dritte Option, “Verfassungsbeschwerde”, September 2, 2016, accessed May 2, 2018, http://dritte-option.de/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Dritte-Option_Anonymisierte-Verfassungsbeschwerde-2016.pdf.

  59. 59.

    The group reasoned that it was necessary to seek a positive, third, non-binary registration option (and not the abolition of gender registration) in order to obtain a ruling that would take the place of the existing option to not register a newborn child, with its accompanying administrative protocols that were viewed as creating a pressure for medical/surgical intervention in order to secure a registration rather than a non-registration (see Chapter 7, Garland and Travis, in this collection for a more in-depth discussion of this topic).

  60. 60.

    On this potential ambiguity of the scope of the judgment, see also, Peter Dunne and. Jule Mulder, “Beyond the Binary: Towards a Third Sex Category in Germany?” German Law Journal 19, no 3 (2018): 627–648, p. 642.

  61. 61.

    The Scottish Government. November 2018. Review of the Gender Recognition Act 2004: Analysis of Responses to the Public Consultation Exercise—Report. Edinburgh.

  62. 62.

    1 BvR 2019/16, para. 38–39.

  63. 63.

    Az. XII ZB 660/14 (2017) and Az. XII ZB 459/16 (2017).

  64. 64.

    For instance, in Az. XII ZB 660/14 (2017) the judgment highlights that the legal status of motherhood is solely defined through the capacity to give birth to the child in question. See OH and GH v Germany, App. Nos. 53568/18 and 54941/18 (European Court of Human Rights). 

  65. 65.

    Bundesministerium des Innern, für Bau und Heimat. 2018. Entwurf eines Gesetzes zur Änderung der in das Geburtenregister einzutragenden Angaben. Berlin.

  66. 66.

    Die dritte Option, “Statement zur beschlossenen PStG-Reform: Ein Schritt nach vorn, aber noch kein verfassungskonformes Gesetz”, December 13, 2018, accessed December 20, 2018, http://dritte-option.de/statement-zur-beschlossenen-pstg-reform-ein-schritt-nach-vorn-aber-noch-kein-verfassungskonformes-gesetz/.

  67. 67.

    See e.g. the issue of third gender recognition in Nepal: Michael Bochenek and Kyle Knight, “Establishing a Third Gender Category in Nepal: Process and Prognosis” Emory Int’l L. Rev. 26 (2012): 11–41.

  68. 68.

    See also the critique of this, e.g. Surya Munro, “Transmuting Gender Binaries: The Theoretical Challenge” Sociological Research Online 17, no 1(2007): 90–104.

  69. 69.

    Jasbir Puar, The Right To Maim: Debility, Capacity, Disability (Durham and London: Duke University Press, 2017), p. 35.

  70. 70.

    Judith Butler, Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity (London and New York: Routledge, 1999), pp. 1, 22.

  71. 71.

    Petra L. Doan, “The Tyranny of Gendered Spaces—Reflections from Beyond the Gender Dichotomy” Gender, Place & Culture 17, no 5 (2010): 635–654.

  72. 72.

    Davina Cooper, “A Very Binary Drama: The Conceptual Struggle for Gender’s Future” feminists@law 9, no 1 (2019): 1–36.

  73. 73.

    See also Davina Cooper and Flora Renz, “If the State Decertified Gender, What Might Happen to its Meaning and Value?” Journal of Law & Society 43, no 4 (2016): 483–505.

  74. 74.

    Jack Harrison, Jaime Grant, and Jody L. Herman, “A Gender Not Listed Here: Genderqueers, Gender Rebels, and Otherwise in the National Transgender Discrimination Survey,” LGBTQA Policy Journal at the Harvard Kennedy School 2 (2012): 13–24.

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  1. University of Kent, Canterbury, UK

    Flora Renz

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    Senthorun Raj

  2. University of Bristol, Bristol, UK

    Peter Dunne

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Renz, F. (2021). Genders that Don’t Matter: Non-Binary People and the Gender Recognition Act 2004. In: Raj, S., Dunne, P. (eds) The Queer Outside in Law. Palgrave Socio-Legal Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-48830-7_6

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