scholarly journals Losing sight of women's rights: the unregulated introduction of gender self-identification as a case study of policy capture in Scotland

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 262-289 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kath Murray ◽  
Lucy Hunter Blackburn
Keyword(s):  
Gender Identity ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Due Process ◽  
Public Consultation ◽  
Sex And Gender ◽  
Law And Policy ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Intense Debate ◽  
Roll Out

Within the last two years, respective proposals by the Scottish and UK Governments to reform the Gender Recognition Act 2004 (GRA) to allow people to change their legal sex based only on making a legally-registered self-declaration have sparked an intense debate on how sex and gender identity should be defined in law and policy. This paper examines how gender self-identification had in fact become a feature of Scottish policy-making and practice, long before public consultation on GRA reform began. The analysis is structured as two case-studies that examine firstly, policy development on the census in relation to the ‘sex’ question, and second, Scottish Prison Service policy on transgender prisoners. The analysis shows that the unregulated roll-out of gender self-identification in Scotland has taken place with weak or non-existent scrutiny and a lack of due process, and that this relates to a process of policy capture, whereby decision-making on sex and gender identity issues has been directed towards the interests of a specific interest group, without due regard for other affected groups or the wider population. The paper raises questions about the adequacy of institutional safeguards against well-organised and highly purposeful lobbying, particularly where any groups detrimentally affected do not have effective representation.

scholarly journals Sex and Gender Equality Law and Policy: A Response to Murray, Hunter Blackburn and Mackenzie

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Sharon Cowan ◽  
Harry Josephine Giles ◽  
Rebecca Hewer ◽  
Becky Kaufmann ◽  
Meryl Kenny ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Legal Status ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Sex And Gender ◽  
Law And Policy ◽  
Trans Women ◽  
And Gender ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Policy Shifts ◽  
Status Of Women

This article is a response to ‘Losing Sight of Women's Rights: The Unregulated Introduction of Gender Self-Identification as a Case Study of Policy Capture in Scotland’ by Kath Murray, Lucy Hunter Blackburn and Lisa MacKenzie, published in Scottish Affairs 28(3). Murray et al. sought to explore the legal status of women, particularly with regard to discrimination legislation, and concluded that the interests of trans women had begun to systematically erode the interests of non-trans women in Scotland. In this response, we aim to correct some of the erroneous statements made by Murray et al. about legal definitions of sex and gender, and about discrimination law. In critically engaging with Murray et al..’s argument we aim to build a much-needed clearer understanding of law and policy on sex and gender in Scotland, particularly as it relates to the application of the Equality Act 2010. We argue that, in that claiming that there has been policy capture in Scotland, Murray et al.. have neglected to contextualise ongoing debates about sex and gender in law against the backdrop of over two decades of clear legal and policy shifts across the UK. We call for researchers and others – in Scotland and elsewhere – to take care, particularly in interpreting and applying the law, especially as it applies to marginalised minority populations, so that we do not further obfuscate or mislead on important legal and social issues.

scholarly journals Redefining genderswap fan fiction: A Sherlock case study

2014 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann McClellan
Keyword(s):  
Gender Identity ◽  
Conceptual Understanding ◽  
Fan Fiction ◽  
Sex And Gender ◽  
Physical Body ◽  
Biological Sex ◽  
And Gender

Using BBC Sherlock (2010–) fan fiction as case study, this article looks at how fans use and understand such concepts as biological sex and gender in genderswap fan fiction, arguing that the label often minimizes the importance of the physical body in determining gender identity. The label genderswap, most often used to describe stories where characters have become differently sexed, reflects and reinforces common cultural misunderstandings about differences between sex and gender. By teasing out definitions of genderswap, sex, gender, cisgender, and transgender, the article analyzes what genderswap includes and excludes from discussions of gender and identity within contemporary fan fiction, ultimately arguing for a broader conceptual understanding that grounds the genre within contemporary transgender theory.

Disability and quality of life in patients with low back pain: Focus on sex and gender: A cross-sectional study

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Yen-Mou Lu ◽  
Chung-Hwan Chen ◽  
Yi-Jing Lue
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Low Back Pain ◽  
Back Pain ◽  
Gender Identity ◽  
Gender Role ◽  
Low Back ◽  
Sex And Gender ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
And Gender

BACKGROUND: Sex and gender affect responses to pain, but little is known about disability and quality of life. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effects of sex and gender on disability and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients with low back pain. METHODS: Ninety-three patients with low back pain were included in this cross-sectional survey study. Disability, HRQOL and gender identity were respectively assessed with the Oswestry Disability Index, Short Form-36 and Bem Sex Role Inventory. The participants were classified into four gender role orientations (masculinity, femininity, androgyny and undifferentiated). One-way analysis of variance was used to analyze both the sex and the gender role orientation. RESULTS: Females had higher disability than males (p< 0.05), but in gender identity, no significant difference was found. Seven domains of HRQOL were lower than the healthy norms. Males experienced greater impacts than females on vitality and mental health (p< 0.05). For gender identity, five domains of HRQOL had significant differences (p< 0.05). Masculinity orientation had the least impact on four domains (p< 0.05), while undifferentiated orientation had the largest impact on all domains. CONCLUSION: Sex and gender effects can be used to analyze disability and HRQOL in patients with low back pain. Females have higher disability, while HRQOL is greatly influenced by different gender role orientations.

scholarly journals Can evolutionary thinking shed light on gender diversity?

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 351-362 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernadette Wren ◽  
John Launer ◽  
Michael J. Reiss ◽  
Annie Swanepoel ◽  
Graham Music
Keyword(s):  
Gender Identity ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Medical Intervention ◽  
List Type ◽  
Sex And Gender ◽  
Medical Interventions ◽  
The Core ◽  
Causal Pathways ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Shed Light

SUMMARYIssues of sexual reproduction lie at the core of evolutionary thinking, which often places an emphasis on how individuals attempt to maximise the number of successful offspring that they can produce. At first sight, it may therefore appear that individuals who opt for gender-affirming medical interventions are acting in ways that are evolutionarily disadvantageous. However, there are persuasive hypotheses that might make sense of such choices in evolutionary terms and we explore these here. It is premature to claim knowledge of the extent to which evolutionary arguments can usefully be applied to issues of gender identity, although worth reflecting on the extent to which nature tends towards diversity in matters of sex and gender. The importance of acknowledging and respecting different views in this domain, as well as recognising both the uncertainty and likely multiplicity of causal pathways, has implications for clinicians. We make some suggestions about how clinicians might best respond when faced with requests from patients in this area.LEARNING OBJECTIVESAfter reading this article you will be able to:•understand evolutionary arguments about diversity in human gender identity•identify strengths and weaknesses in evolutionary arguments applied to transgender issues•appreciate the range and diversity of gender experience and gender expression among people who present to specialist gender services, as well as the likely complexities of their reasons for requesting medical intervention.

scholarly journals Community attitudes on genetic research of gender identity, sexual orientation, and mental health

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taylor R. Thomas ◽  
Dabney Hofammann ◽  
Brooke G. McKenna ◽  
Anna I.R. van der Miesen ◽  
Mark A. Stokes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
Gender Identity ◽  
Genetic Research ◽  
Mental Health Research ◽  
Sex And Gender ◽  
Willingness To Participate ◽  
Biological Basis ◽  
And Gender ◽  
New Research

ABSTRACTBiological sex is an important factor in mental health, and a non-binary view of how variation in sex and gender influence mental health represents a new research frontier that may yield new insights. The recent acceleration of research into sexual orientation, gender identity, and mental health has generally been conducted without sufficient understanding of the opinions of sexual and gender minorities (SGM) toward this research. We surveyed 768 individuals, with an enrichment of LGBTQ+ stakeholders, for their opinions regarding genetic research of SGM and mental health. We found that the key predictors of attitudes toward genetic research specifically on SGM are 1) general attitudes toward genetic and mental health research 2) tolerance of SGM and associated behaviors 3) non-cisgender stakeholder status and 4) age of the respondent. Non-heterosexual stakeholder status was significantly associated with increased willingness to participate in genetic research if a biological basis for gender identity were discovered. We also found that non-stakeholders with a low tolerance for SGM indicated their SGM views would be positively updated if science showed a biological basis for their behaviors and identities. These findings represent an important first step in understanding and engaging the LGBTQ+ stakeholder community in the context of genetic research.

scholarly journals Far Beyond the Gay Village: LGBTQ Urbanism and Generation in Montréal’s Mile End

2021 ◽  
pp. 289-306
Author(s):  
Julie A. Podmore
Keyword(s):  
Young Adult ◽  
Social Class ◽  
Gender Identity ◽  
Inner City ◽  
Urban Space ◽  
Qualitative Case Study ◽  
And Gender ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractResearch on LGBTQ neighbourhood formation in the urban West suggests that new patterns of community and identity are reshaping the queer inner-city and its geographies. As gay village districts “decline” or are “de-gayed” and new generations “dis-identify” with the urban ideals that once informed their production, LGBTQ subcultures are producing varied alternatives in other inner-city neighbourhoods. Beyond the contours of ethno-racialization and social class, generational interpretations of LGBTQ urbanism—subcultural ideals regarding the relationship between sexual and gender identity and its expression in urban space—are central to the production of such new inner-city LGBTQ subcultural sites. This chapter provides a qualitative case study Montréal’s of Mile End, an inner-city neighbourhood that, by the early 2010s, was touted as the centre of the city’s emerging queer subculture. Drawing on a sample of young-adult (22 to 30 years) LGBTQ-identified Mile Enders (n = 40), it examines generational shifts in perceptions of sexual and gender identity, queer community and neighbourhoods. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the implications of queer Mile End for theorizing the contemporary queer inner-city.

Reverse tomboy: (Re)definitions of gender fluidity through sensory engagement with material culture

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 149-170
Author(s):  
Charlie Athill
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Subject Position ◽  
Sex And Gender ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
Sensory Ethnography ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Cross Dressing ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Embodied Practice

This narrative case study explores how material culture, in the form of dress, grooming and accessories, is utilized to establish a gender-fluid presentation of the self. It focuses on Tim Mustoe, a 42-year-old heterosexual creative living and working in London, whose embodied practice contributes to the problematization of gender normativity through a disruption of culturally established links between appearance, gender and sex. The study considers how a particular form of non-spectacular cross dressing is used to integrate into a work environment and also operate within a non-queer social environment. The study explores the affective power of material culture in the reification of subject position and as a means of resilience and empowerment through everyday practice and also considers its significance on a social, intersubjective level. The methodology used for this case draws on sensory ethnography and includes a queer reflexive turn to consider parallels and contrasts between my own and Tim’s experience and practice. Conceptualizations of subjectivity, sex, gender are considered in relation to those on material culture, and the study draws on scholarship related to cross-dressing in the United Kingdom. Tim identifies as a man, as do I; however, his embodied practice and gender identification proffer a particular response to culturally embedded norms relating to the binaries of sex and gender. Therefore, in relation to male femininity, I propose the notion of feminizing as an amendment to the concept of femaling, which assumes the identification with or transition to a cisgender position. This study explores the phenomenology of dress as an expressive tool of gratification and as a means of integration for which the imperatives of professionalism, age and respectability are key factors.

11. Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Human Rights

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine (Cricket) Keating ◽  
Cynthia Burack
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Gender Identity ◽  
Interpersonal Violence ◽  
Important Development ◽  
Queer People ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Rights Issues

This chapter examines the issue of the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer people (LGBTI). In recent years, LGBTI groups have used the language and frameworks of human rights to organize against state, civil society, religious, and interpersonal violence and discrimination. The broadening of the human rights framework to address issues of sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) has been an important development in both the human rights and the LGBTI movements. The chapter begins with a discussion of SOGI rights as human rights, focusing on questions such as the central human rights issues for LGBTI people; how these groups have organized to address these challenges through a human rights framework; and the challenges faced by LGBTI human rights advocates and what successes they have had. It also considers critiques of SOGI human rights activism and concludes with a case study of Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Bill.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document