topic Re: High Court recognises third category of gender in Community Spirit

High Court recognises third category of gender

nero_bolt — Wed, 02 Apr 2014 08:39:09 GMT

The list of what ifs is endless on this one

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/04/02/high-court-recognises-third-category-gender

A Sydneysider has won a High Court case to be recognised as gender-neutral.

Norrie, who was born male but underwent gender reassignment to become a woman, identifies neither as male or female and has taken legal action against NSW's Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages to be granted a non-specific certificate.

The court was asked to consider whether "non-specific" can be included as a third gender category under the Registry's Act.

"The act recognises that a person may be neither male nor female, and so permits the registration of a person's sex as 'non specific'," read the High Court judgment, handed down on Wednesday.

Norrie, who goes by one name, was famously granted a world-first non-specific status in 2010, but months later the NSW government revoked the classification.

The matter was challenged by both Norrie and the Registry until the latter took an appeal to the High Court.

Lawyers for the Registry argued that unacceptable confusion would flow from the acceptance of more than two gender categories, and that the purpose of a reaffirmation procedure is to assist a person to be considered a member of the opposite sex.

Norrie stopped taking hormones after surgery, preferring to live as neither male nor female.

Counsel for Norrie said it is the register's purpose to record the truth.

"Norrie's sex remained ambiguous so that it would be to record misinformation in the register to classify her as male or female," a judgment summary reads.

Sitting in Canberra on Wednesday, the bench unanimously found in favour of Norrie.

"The act does not require that people who, having undergone a sex affirmation procedure ... must be registered, inaccurately, as one or the other," the court found.

Norrie's application for non-specific status should now be reconsidered by the Registry in accordance with the court's finding, the judgment said.

The Registry must pay Norrie's costs of the High Court appeal.

Norrie said other people wanting to identify as a non-specific gender had made contact.

"Many other people let me know they wanted do that (identify as non-specific) in Australia and indeed around the world," Norrie told reporters in Sydney.

"Maybe people will understand there's more options than the binary."

Norrie's solicitor, Scott McDonald, said the decision was likely to have similar repercussions in Queensland and Victoria, which have similar state legislation to NSW.

"It'll be binding on the states that have identical or similar legislation" he told reporters.

And for states such as Western Australia, with very different legislation, the judgment has sent a message the High Court doesn't think gender is limited to male and female.

Norrie was born a man in Scotland and had gender reassignment surgery in the late 1980s.

Norrie said the legal battle had taken a personal toll, but it was the lawyers who had done most of the hard work.

Re: High Court recognises third category of gender

lakeland27 — Wed, 02 Apr 2014 08:32:04 GMT

i think it norries business. why make it yours ? it doesn't affect you in any way.

if people dont fit a description by all means allow them another.. who does it hurt ?

Re: High Court recognises third category of gender

spotweldersfriend — Wed, 02 Apr 2014 09:21:12 GMT

One inch isn't enough?Shoot!! I've got a lot of paperwork to fill out 😞

Re: High Court recognises third category of gender

freshwater-2 — Wed, 02 Apr 2014 09:28:17 GMT

Sooooo NW......what's your interest and/or problem with this?

Re: High Court recognises third category of gender

2106greencat — Wed, 02 Apr 2014 09:48:18 GMT

What public 'rest room' do they use ?? Legally ??

Just wondering...........

Re: High Court recognises third category of gender

lurker17260 — Wed, 02 Apr 2014 09:54:48 GMT

Ya know, if the biggest problem in my life was the gender of the person in the next cubicle, I'd be pretty happy.

Re: High Court recognises third category of gender

nero_bolt — Wed, 02 Apr 2014 10:00:10 GMT

@freshwaterbeach wrote:
Sooooo NW......what's your interest and/or problem with this?

NONE its a NEWS story thats it

Re: High Court recognises third category of gender

nero_bolt — Wed, 02 Apr 2014 10:03:56 GMT

So what do you call this person? as in you cant refer to them as She or He so what do you refer to them as when writing or in general speech?

You can not use a gender-specific pronoun when you refer to this person....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender-specific_and_gender-neutral_pronouns

Re: High Court recognises third category of gender

nero_bolt — Wed, 02 Apr 2014 10:04:21 GMT

@2106greencat wrote:
What public 'rest room' do they use ?? Legally ??

Just wondering...........

Good question?

🙂

Re: High Court recognises third category of gender

jean2579 — Wed, 02 Apr 2014 10:20:46 GMT

Which inch spots????

Re: High Court recognises third category of gender

2106greencat — Wed, 02 Apr 2014 10:24:23 GMT

@nero_wulf wrote:
@2106greencat wrote:
What public 'rest room' do they use ?? Legally ??

Just wondering...........
Good question?

🙂

I thought so

Re: High Court recognises third category of gender

*elizabeths-mum* — Wed, 02 Apr 2014 10:29:12 GMT

Most of the forms I've filled out recently have had a third box. I can't remember what it called though.

Re: High Court recognises third category of gender

icyfroth — Wed, 02 Apr 2014 11:48:33 GMT

He was born a male.

So he's a he.

Just because he had an operation doesn't change his gender.

Re: High Court recognises third category of gender

imastawka — Wed, 02 Apr 2014 11:54:23 GMT

@*elizabeths-mum* wrote:
Most of the forms I've filled out recently have had a third box. I can't remember what it called though.

The box that says 's ex' you answer 'yes please'

Re: High Court recognises third category of gender

the_great_she_elephant — Wed, 02 Apr 2014 11:57:09 GMT

@nero_wulf wrote:
So what do you call this person? as in you cant refer to them as She or He so what do you refer to them as when writing or in general speech?

You can not use a gender-specific pronoun when you refer to this person....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender-specific_and_gender-neutral_pronouns

How do we refer to posters here when we are not sure if they are male or female?

Re: High Court recognises third category of gender

ufo_investigations — Wed, 02 Apr 2014 12:12:42 GMT

This court ruling is confusing, when he was born he was a male.

Re: High Court recognises third category of gender

lind9650 — Wed, 02 Apr 2014 12:18:50 GMT

Simple === it's an It.

Re: High Court recognises third category of gender

ufo_investigations — Wed, 02 Apr 2014 12:20:47 GMT

If he was a boy how come now he's not?

Re: High Court recognises third category of gender

fourandsixpants — Wed, 02 Apr 2014 14:51:11 GMT

....I guess it's all in the genes (not what's inside the jeans BTW! LOL). If a test? DNA i guess, was conducted then that result is what you/he/her/me would be classified as. Don't think it is based just on what actual physical parts are carried......nor just on what the person emotionally/mentally 'feels'....probably includes, for classification purposes 'how' the person conducts/portrays themselves in their daily lives to themselves and to others.

Am guessing that it would be a complicated affair but really if we are categorising someone by their 'sex' this would have to be based on what the genetic science tells us.

Re: High Court recognises third category of gender

kilroy_is_here — Wed, 02 Apr 2014 16:00:10 GMT

So which public toilet does he use