Hope, Ignorance & Bigotry
The Australian Human Rights Commission is pushing Canberra to offically recognise Intersex people, whether they have had modifying surgery or not.
First news of the move was the Daily Telegraph via news.com.au and it offers some faint hope for people whose physical identity simply doesn’t fit male or female.
Sadly though, the web article’s first 3 respondents were typically ignorant and hateful, probably out of fear of the unknown, but I found it pathetic but fairly typical.
The push also raised the more complex reality of gender differences, suggesting more classifications are needed.
The legal and community status of genders other than male and female heterosexuals has to be addressed and a bit of education for “normal” people might be very useful.
People who still describe these genetic, physiological differences as “lifestyle” choices are part of the many challenges to be overcome for a minority that is every bit as human as the lovely looking people in your clothing catalogues.
What do you think?
Is it time for us to demand equality for those who are different. Or do we stay scared of diversity and protect the “Adam & Eve” idea despite the facts.
If you say the latter, then maybe you should start building an Ark too.
If you want to make a difference for people whose only sin is being different write/email/hassle your local, state and federal politician. Here in Australia contact the Greens who’ve had their shoulder to this wheel for some time now.
The news.com.au article and the two all-too-predictable comments are pasted below
THE Federal Government’s human rights arm plans to invent a new official status called “intersex” adding it to male and female as a legally recognised gender.
The Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission wants people to be able to change their gender on their passports and driving licences even if they do not undergo surgery.
And transgender lobby groups say that even this does not go far enough and are demanding a fourth legal gender called “other” for people who feel like their gender is indefinable or changes from day to day.
The extraordinary proposals are contained in a discussion paper quietly issued to transgender and transexual advocates by the commission, a statutory body that advises the Government on such matters.
The paper, entitled “Sex Files – The legal recognition of sex: Proposed reform”, says the introduction of the new “intersex” gender is a “key feature of the reform proposal being developed by the commission”.
“Recognition of intersex: Persons who cannot or do not identify as either male or female would be able to choose to be identified on their birth certificate and passport as intersex,” it says.
“A person who cannot or chooses not to undergo surgery would not be automatically ineligible to request a change in their legal sex.”
A response to the report by Sex and Gender Education Australia says there needs to be a fourth legal gender for people who are not even “intersex”.
SAGE spokeswoman Tracie O’Keefe, a sexologist whose doctorate comes from a Californian hypnotherapy institute, is the co-author of the book Transpeople in Love, wrote: “The AHRC proposal does not go far enough in providing legal status and social spaces by only allowing people to be male, female and intersex.”
Dr O’Keefe, who runs the Australian Health and Education Centre and the International Sex, Gender and Sexuality Clinic in Glebe, said cultures such as Native Americans had more than two genders.
Agree with Robert. Dr.O’Keefe needs immediate treatment.
How Pathetic!!!!
We already have a third classification – “it” or “neuter”. to even discuss this is an insult to human intelligence and a waste of taxpayers money.
December 7, 2008
tony serve
6 responses to “Australian Human Rights push for Intersex gender recognition”
Eric Carwardine
January 1st, 2009 at 15:38
Alan (December 31) very rightly draws attention to the dangers of naivety. Let me tell you of my experience.
In Perth, Western Australia, we don’t get winter, just the occasional summer shower. Winter in Perth is a wet[ish] two weeks sometime during the year. The remaining fifty weeks it is so hot that French poodles become French fries.
I’m getting-on in years, becoming less-and-less heat tolerant. Imagine my interest when I came across this Internet website that seemed to offer a solution – or at least a precautionary measure. The banner headline read -
“During very hot weather it is advisable to stand in a bucket”
“Experience has shown that the human body disintegrates very rapidly once it has reached its melting temperature. Do not be caught unawares. Obtain your full-body-volume bucket now. Also, for this month only, get a 50% discount on our reconstituting mould”
The online firm would supply a spray-on latex solution with which to make a full-body mould of yourself. On finding your bucket full of something that might be you, a relative could pour the contents of the bucket into the mould. Sounds kinky, but much better than life as a liquid. Excellent instructions were supplied for determining your body volume and hence the minimal capacity of bucket: fill bath with water up to the brim, undress, fully immerse oneself in water (having made provision for overflow). Get out of bath. Measure volume of water needed to refill bath to brim.
“For increased mobility we offer the two-bucket approach” said the website. “Act now, before your toes goes” Then followed a lot of technical stuff, about how the body loses heat mainly through head and feet. All sounded quite reasonable.
It took less than a week for the kit to arrive. Two buckets, shaped to resemble feet. Large container of latex solution. An electric-powered sprayer. And a big funnel for pouring. I could now feel secure while blogging. But you know what, Alan, either there are feminist conspirators in this country, or somebody needs to make a close observation of stalactites. They (stalactites) drip. If you’re thinking that males require a three-bucket solution you’d be spot-on. Luckily, I reverted to the single-bucket just in time.
But how can I tell if there’s still naivety in me, Alan? I’m looking at this other website now – “World Jumping Day” – and it’s got me wondering. I’ll write again soon.
Eric –un-melted
alan
December 31st, 2008 at 10:29
i have noticed that when standing in for hosts on 6pr and confronted by callers with an opposing view to yourself you quote “factual” research on websites on the net i find this to be naive as every surfer knows you can take info on the net with a pinch of salt eg the brainwave patterns of homosexuals, why you can even find a way to run your car on a bucket of water and a couple of electrodes lol .
I’m finding myself switching off more often when youre covering holidaying hosts as i can only take so much naievity at one sitting
tony serve
December 31st, 2008 at 19:33
Sorry to quote facts, I’ll try dogma instead from now on.
( btw.. I’m shocked that all I read on the net isn’t true – say it ain’t so Alan! )
Thanks for your warm and constructive criticism.
After 30 years as a working journalist on 3 continents and 20 years of community advocacy it’s so refreshing to be thought of as “naive”
Good luck in 2009 Alan
tony
kamododragon
December 8th, 2008 at 13:05
As an intersex person, I see a heck of a lot of things wrong with that. First one is that by creating it, It will make it easier for transsexuals and transgender people to abuse it and make a claim their intersex. The other is that it will make it even harder for true intersex people and that it will make it far worse. I think that who ever though about is should have his or her head examined because to create it would invite transgender trouble and abuse of it from the transgender community.
tony serve
December 8th, 2008 at 13:28
Thanks for your comments. It seems once again that the “road to hell is paved with good intentions.”
My concern is that there is not much political and public/media capital available to gender/orientation minorities.
That makes it so much more important for the global community ( especially online ) to facilitate efforts for various advocacy and activist groups to work together on key goals such as media education and reduction of stigma.
Most other goals are tied to the community understanding the sometimes confronting diversity around them so they don’t just freak out and say it’s all too hard.
It’s like mental health – death and suffering will only be reduced when stigma and ignorance are brought down.
So thanks for raising your voice – you’re welcome to contribute any time.
tony
Eric Carwardine
December 7th, 2008 at 21:39
G’day, folks
Intolerance gets an early foothold when we are confronted with just two categories of gender on application forms – male or female. The field of marketting has gone far beyond this simple dichotomy.
More correctly, the branch of psychology known as “motivational research” has developed the concept of “sexual spectrum”, in which human behaviour is more important than genes or biology. See diagram at -
http://www.kurrattan.net/images/sex_spectrum.jpg
The majority of the population cluster around one of two peaks, representing “femaleness” and “maleness”. But there are many individuals whose behaviour places them somewhere between the peaks. And a few well beyond the peak – the so-called “super -female” and “super-male”.
The particular study I have in mind examined how people’s sexuality was expressed through their choice of clothing. It is, of course, an interesting proposition whether clothing determines behaviour, or vice-versa.
But the investigators found a truly remarkable thing; the spectrum was in constant motion. No individual could be reliably located at any given position on the distribution. Dissatisfied with being “average”, an individual might seek the more extreme regions of the spectrum. Loneliness, and advancing age, might cause an “over-achiever” to drift toward “normality” in the centre of the spectrum.
Left to their own devices, the whole population had a hunger for alliances and “coalitions”, usually based on some special interest. It is beyond the scope of this post to pursue, but it’s interesting to speculate how this seemingly “hard-wired” need to find colleagues and associates might one day alter the way we vote in elections. Rather than vote according to geographical region we may choose representatives based on occupational groups across the nation.
There are not just two, or three, or twenty gender classes. There are as many classes as there are individuals. If that makes you smile, then there truly is reason to be hopeful. Get dressed, come and talk with us. Only the bigot will be concerned with what is beneath your clothes.
Eric Carwardine, in Perth, Western Australia