Gender: Law Reform and Feminist Politics

The place of gender when it comes to 21st-century legal personhood is in flux. What once seemed biologically settled facts—two sexes identified at birth giving rise to two genders—is now subject to a swirl of different politics and legal reforms. Gender transitioning and legal recognition of genders other than male and female puts pressure on policies and practices to adapt. Beyond what state law requires, in some jurisdictions, employers and service providers, including universities and colleges, are also amending their procedures to treat sex or gender as self-determined and plural. These developments are not uncontested, and higher education is one site where heated debates are taking place.