Big research project to decide if we still need sex as a legal category

[PencilsInSpace]

Reforming Legal Gender Identity: A Socio-Legal Evaluation

It started in February and runs for 3 years.

... should gender remain a legal status assigned at birth; and what would be the implications of reforming this?

Our project addresses this question. It critically assesses different options for reform and their complex implications for law, policy and NGO agendas, focusing on the legal jurisdiction of England & Wales, but drawing also on developments in Scotland and overseas.

Research is organised into three consecutive work packages.

The first draws on international developments and activist arguments to outline possible options for reform (for instance, birth certificates with more than two gender options; allowing people to choose a legal gender on maturity; or modes of regulation that are more like sexual orientation and religion which are not, for the most part, formal statuses in English law while still identifying protected equality grounds).

The second work package explores the implications of different reform options. It focuses on what different options mean: for gender-differentiated provision, such as single-sex schools, domestic violence shelters, and women's groups; for diverse equality agendas including ethnic, religious and other equality grounds as well as transgender and women's equality; and for how gender is codified in law, including the key technical and administrative challenges new legislation would face. This second work package also explores public attitudes to reform, and what this can tell us about the significance of legal gender in everyday life.

The final work package draws the research together to understand key points of disagreement and tension regarding reform; and to assess the best reform option for going forward. This recommendation will be elaborated as a draft Bill in light of the data and legal principles of "good reform" to emerge from the research.

I don't know what to say about this yet, it came up on a different thread and looked important enough to have its own thread.

[Pratchet]

I bet they've already decided. Who is funding?

[Theinconstantgardener]

Agreed pencils
will read link when I have more time.

[PencilsInSpace]

ESRC - Economic and Social Research Council.

[Melamin]

should gender remain a legal status assigned at birth

Stating this implies, strongly, that they are coming to this from a predetermined angle.

[Pratchet]

Thanks
Award for researcher who advanced transgender inmate policy

Sally Hines, vocal transadvocate, research funded by ESRC

[Pratchet]

More research funded at Warwick

[Pratchet]

Davina Cooper lead investigator

[ItsAllGoingToBeFine]

Assuming they mean sex that is dystopian!

I agree it sounds like they have already decided and will be cherry picking evidence to support that.

[flowery]

”should gender remain a legal status assigned at birth”

That isn’t the case at the moment though, surely? Currently there is no doctor/midwife umming and ahhing and with the legal authority to assign someone a gender according to their fancy.

Currently doctor or midwife simply notes down which sex the baby is. No ‘assigning’, simply observing and recording.

[Pratchet]

Davina Cooper follows a lot of feminists on Twitter. Don't know what kind of feminists.

[Pratchet]

Davina 'liked' Sally Hines' promotion tweet

[ItsAllGoingToBeFine]

Feminist activists and scholars have long questioned the idea that gender is a natural biological distinction, arguing instead that concepts of masculine and feminine, and what it means to be a man or woman, are socially generated. More recently, transgender and intersex activists and scholars have supplemented these claims, arguing that people's gender identities should not be restricted to the gender assigned at birth

Fuck me. Missing the point much? This is what happens when you misuse the word gender, and erase sex.

[Terfulike]

Sally Hines, vocal transadvocate, research funded by ESRC
Pregnant Men: An International Exploration of Trans Male Practices of Reproduction

How disgusting that this study's 5 aims do not include any aim concerning the well being of the foetus/neonate

[PositivelyPERF]

They’ve already made up their minds, but are going to manipulate the results to support their misogynistic TRA agenda.

[Pratchet]

And this

[Pratchet]

And finally

[HotRocker]

Sex may be observed at birth and recorded on the birth certificate, but gender is assigned by society and there is no legal documentation for that.
I think I know where we’re going with the study, based on the fact that the whole premise is false.
Linguistic trickery sponsored by public money, can’t see anything good coming out of that. It’s all becoming very clear.

[Pratchet]

However we can't impugn her professionalism. Researchers will always have personal views which they will be experienced in leaving behind when they approach their work. It would be ridiculous to expect a researcher with interest in the field not to have personal views.

[Terfulike]

Is belief TWAW a view or a faith though?

[Summerhillsquare]

Err what? The ESRC is funding research that starts from a point that is unfounded? JFC. Sex is observed at birth. Thereis no formal decision to 'assign' your gender at any point. How the hell can academics be so confused about the difference?

[Pratchet]

Is that to me? I don't know if she believes it or not. I actually have asked MN to look at my posts to check they're ok to leave up.

[MsBeaujangles]

FFS, this is so over engineered.

Sex as a binary will exist as long as humans exist.

The issues for debate are: when is/isn’t it helpful to categorise and sort according to sex.

The usefulness and criteria for other systems of classification can also be explored- independently or alongside that of sex.

I struggle to understand how people become so confused.

[Terfulike]

Some of her tweets affirm that she believes TWAW

[Pratchet]

Ah right I haven't seen any that actually say that

I haven't looked at the other researchers either tbh.

[BarrackerBarmer]

'Gender' ISN'T a legal status assigned at birth.

I can impugn the professionalism of whoever wrote that it was!

There is a terrifying targeted campaign being funded through academia right now.
I'm shocked at the scale of this.

And at how many people I had assumed to be intelligent have demonstrated that they have no ability to reason.

There really are people who can be convinced, or will pretend, black is white if the incentive is strong enough.