Simon Corbell has alerted the population that he’s asking the Law Reform Advisory Council to consider the plight of those trying to be a gender other than what they were born to.
“The ACT places a strong level of importance on the human rights of all community members, and this latest reference to the LRAC will investigate if there are any gaps in the legal rights of transexual and intersex people in the ACT,” Mr Corbell said.
“The Council’s inquiry will provide an opportunity for the public to comment on the matter. A process for this consultation will be announced soon.”
Mr Corbell said the Government has worked closely with the Chair of the Law Reform Advisory Council, Associate Professor Simon Rice, to develop terms of reference that would result in a meaningful examination of the Territory’s laws relating to transgender and intersex people.
Simon promises that at some point there will be more information on this to be found at the JaCS website.
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Solidarity wrote: “If you’re born with boy bits you’re a boy, if you’re born with girl bits you’re a girl,”…
Except if you have either 5ARD or 17BHDD syndrome. Then you’re born with girl bits, but they change later in life to boy bits, and you may be able to father children afterwards.
See for example The Guevedoces of the Dominican Republic. That’s 5ARD. But it’s found in 1 in ~100,000 of the general population too. So is 17BHDD, there are clusters of that mutation too, one of them in Jubayah in Gaza.
Some really rare conditions cause changes the other way, and there’s at least one of those in Canberra. See the recent ABC program on the subject.
I don’t think transgender and intersex issues are prominent enough on the agenda of the trendy lefties middle class white guilt brigade for this action on the part of Simon Corbell to actually secure votes, or change people’s voting habits. And yes, it is very possible that these issues were brought to his attention by individuals and groups that advocate on behalf of GLBTI people, particularly as we have seen a recent expansion and establishment of groups in the ACT such as A Gender Agenda, which is doing some excellent work in raising awareness of gender issues.
In late 2010, Joy Burch hosted an event at the Legislative Assembly focusing on issues experienced by GLTBI young people, at which a young person spoke to a number of MLAs about the issues experienced by people she knew, who identify as transgender or intersex. So yes, it has been a topic of discussion in the Assembly.
Having said this, I frankly don’t care what his motivations are behind this; he is still working towards a positive outcome and that’s good enough for me.
Finally, just in relation to your 99.99999% of the population not being transgendered – actually, there is very little data pertaining to the population of transgendered or intersex people, particularly because it is still so highly stigmatised. Data on the rates of intersex babies specifically (so, not including transgendered people) varies from 0.02 – 1.7% of the population in Australia. Therefore the rate of transgendered and intersex people might be higher than you think.
Well some of us not transgendered, (ie. 99.999999999% of the |ACT population,) may find it hard to appreciate the need for Corbell to waste his time and our money looking for potential gaps in the legal rights of transexual and intersex people in the ACT.
Surely if those gaps are noted by the transexual and intersex people of the ACT, or have some effect on the transexual and intersex people of the ACT, they would be highlighted and addressed as the need arises.
Now did the collective transexual and intersex people in the ACT request this of him? Or is it merely him playing to the right on trendy lefties middle class white guilt brigade in order to secure some kudos and votes? Hmmmmm ?
Pommy bastard said :
Oh right – so now the only issue is ‘how he spends his time’. Well, I think it’s very honourable that he has chosen to spend time advocating for a minority group that is one of Canberra’s most hidden (because they experience such perverse discrimination); and that don’t often get the opportunity to have their rights addressed.
What a good use of time.
Eby said :
No, teh way Simon Corbell chooses to spend his time, which is what people here are complaining about, is the issue.
The fact that he has chosen to look to create some “human rights issues,” out of nothing, is a side issue.
Pippy said :
That’s exactly right Pippy. On a side note, I think it’s a shame that people like you and I feel we need to prefice our comments by saying (by the way, I’m not [insert transgender / intersex / gay / black / unemployed / on the dole / homeless]) because we know that if we don’t, the Pommy Bastards of this forum will then disregard our comments as just being ‘one of the whinging minority’.
Eby said :
+1 – well said.
Eby said :
Deckard said :
haha no – I think I just come into contact with social circles in which transgendered people feel more comfortable participating in; and where they feel more accepted.
Pommy bastard said :
Of course it’s a human rights issue, and I’m quite certain that most people who identify as transgender, transsexual, or intersex would also agree it’s a human rights issue. Just because it’s not an issue for you, or anyone you know (bar one), you don’t get to decide it’s not a human rights issue.
absharp said :
+1
Footpaths don’t have any rights, nor do crime victims, households, taxpayers, roadusers etc etc etc.
Solidarity said :
You realise it’s not that simple right? I assume the issue being talked about here is when the person feels their mental gender doesn’t match with the physical one, but defining gender is not as simple as you describe. There are a vast array of conditions that have some type of gender ambiguity. I don’t know much about it but people are born with ambiguous “bits” (the doctors can’t tell!) and there are all sorts of chromosomal issues too, look up XO (Turner’s syndrome), XYY, XXY etc. Rare but that doesn’t mean they can be ignored.
Eby said :
No it’s not a “human rights issue”, it’s a lefty polly trying to find or even create “human rights issues” none may exist, in order to be seen to be “standing up for minorities” to gain political capital with the “middle class white guilt” brigade.
And I still can’t get anyone from the ACT Government to fix the broken footpath.
Eby said :
You must go to the right bars 🙂
Pommy bastard said :
I saw one today, she was bigger than I am….and I’m built like a brick dunny….that may have been eating too many pies lately.
It’s typical of pollies tho, pandering to the smallest of minorities while everyone else just shakes their heads…..but does little else.
neanderthalsis said :
I don’t believe the term ‘hermaphrodite’ was ever ‘ok’ with intersex people. It’s completely derogatory, and no better than saying nigger or poof.
Pommy bastard said :
It’s a human rights issue. And maybe there’s a reason you only know one. I know plenty in Canberra.
neanderthalsis said :
Um, how about someone born genetically male (XY) but has no boy bits, has partially developed girl bits, and looks like a girl? My understanding that sometimes this condition isn’t diagnosed until much later, such as after puberty.
Skidbladnir said :
Examples weren’t exhaustive, doesn’t cover unusual things like Fa’afafine, Fakaleiti, Kathoey, Hijra, etc.
But like I said, gender identity is viewed as a sociocultural phenomenon, but the law tends only to deal with sexual characteristics.
beejay76 said :
So does being a fat man with “moobs” make you intersex?