Gender on Legal Documents

Reclassification of sex designations is a core issue for trans legal engagements, since gendered allocation of legal status determines access to life chances, resources, and opportunities for both trans and non-trans individuals. With the growing visibility of trans communities around the world in the 21st century, many jurisdictions are reforming their policies to better respect trans people’s rights to personal autonomy, while other jurisdictions are trying to legislate trans people out of existence by defining sex in immutable terms, contrary to its predominant social meaning in legal applications. Reclassification, however, is not a new issue; it has existed at least as long as the differentiated legal status of male and female has existed, and it is likely to keep evolving. In 2020, different kinds of ...