Australia Recognized Third Gender

[webfact]

Australia recognized third gender

NEW SOUTH WALES: -- The Court of Appeal in New South Wales admitted existence of the third sex that is neither male nor female. Thus Australia became the first country in the world to recognize 'non-specified' gender.

The decision will affect people who have undergone gender reassignment surgery, as well as anyone who identifies as intersex or gender neutral.

It overturned a ruling that everyone must be registered as a man or a woman with the registry of births, deaths and marriages. It declared for the first time that word sex do not bear a binary meaning of "male" or "female".

The decision was a victory for 52-year-old activist Norrie May-Welby who is now referred to by the gender-neutral pronouns "zie" (instead of he/she) or "hir" (instead of him/her).

Norrie was born as a male, went through male-to-female reassignment surgery but later found that being a woman was not what zie felt like either. Zie sought to have his neuter sex reflected in New South Wales Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages and in 2010 became the first Australian to be given the designation "sex not specified". The certificate had been cancelled in four months and Norrie lodged an appeal.

Source: http://english.ruvr.ru/news/2013_06_03/Australia-recognized-third-gender-9233/

-- THE VOICE OF RUSSIA 2013-2013-06-03

[gl555]

Good for them. The third sex are people too. Though I must admit zie and hir sound pretty stupid if you ask me.

[BookMan]

some more about it here:

http://www.smh.com.au/national/please-just-call-me-norrie-this-is-a-whole-new-agenda-20130531-2nhmo.html

[chuckd]

Zie?

[JetsetBkk]

Ridiculous.

[MacWalen]

So there you are. For me that is quite simple. If you have male sex organs you are a man, and if female sex organs you are a female. Unless they have some deformities but I assume this is not the case here. What about passports? Will they get N for neutral? Or what is the name of the third sex. Do they have a name for it yet?

[Morakot]

So there you are. For me that is quite simple. If you have male sex organs you are a man, and if female sex organs you are a female. Unless they have some deformities but I assume this is not the case here. What about passports? Will they get N for neutral? Or what is the name of the third sex. Do they have a name for it yet?

Organs the yardstick of everything? (Never mind people have primary and secondary biological characteristics and gender is not really sex.)

Fast-forward man; it's not 1950!

[lee b]

what sex are you? non

[geriatrickid]

Another example of social views pushing aside science. The equivalent of those that argued the earth was flat because that view was PC at the time. Humans are born either male or female. This is different from sexual orientation. Even those humans born with both male and female genitalia will be either female or male. A working uterus means that the testes are either not present or not functional.

An absolutely idiotic decision that goes against the basic science. Hopefully, it will eventually be reversed. The Zie and Hir is just pushing the idiocy further. It would be nice if people checked the science first.

[Ulysses G.]

Though I must admit zie and hir sound pretty stupid if you ask me.

The whole concept sounds stupid to me. My father was right. The world is going to hell in a handbasket.

[Morakot]

Even those humans born with both male and female genitalia will be either female or male.

Doubtful.

See here: http://www.isna.org/faq/conditions

[F430murci]

some more about it here:

http://www.smh.com.au/national/please-just-call-me-norrie-this-is-a-whole-new-agenda-20130531-2nhmo.html

Norie does seem to have a little pussy in the picture. On second thought, what is that thing! Big ears. Looks female to me.

[Jingthing]

Not sure why this would bother anyone.

It's something a tiny minority might find useful in their lives and something that won't make a bit of difference to everyone else.

Like legalized gay marriage, but a much TINIER minority.

You don't NEED to understand it.

It doesn't change your life ONE BIT either way, so why not!?!

Personally I don't have strong feelings about the need for this in Australia or anywhere but it is such a trifle, I just don't get the objections.

[F430murci]

Even those humans born with both male and female genitalia will be either female or male.

Doubtful.

See here: http://www.isna.org/faq/conditions

First, women wanted to be treated like a man in women's lib movement.

Then, women wanted to be a man.

Now, they want to be a man, but recognized as something previously unclassified.

What's next?

[Jingthing]

What's next?

Not much!

That's the point. This means NOTHING except to a tiny minority. How about live and let live?

[F430murci]

What's next?

Not much!

That's the point. This means NOTHING except to a tiny minority. How about live and let live?

Nothing at all. Totally cool with live and let live. Something will be next though. Always is.

[Scott]

I wonder what the chromosome makeup on people like this generally is. Do they have an extra chromosome--at least those that are biologically suffering from mixed sex syndrome?

[Morakot]

Suffering? Hope they don't. Some apparently live a perfectly normal happy life.

[Mosha]

Just call them Bruce

[GentlemanJim]

Zie, and Hir ? Hmmmmm All sounds like a bit of silly Germanic to me.

[mopar71]

Not sure why this would bother anyone.

It's something a tiny minority might find useful in their lives and something that won't make a bit of difference to everyone else.

Like legalized gay marriage, but a much TINIER minority.

You don't NEED to understand it.

It doesn't change your life ONE BIT either way, so why not!?!

Personally I don't have strong feelings about the need for this in Australia or anywhere but it is such a trifle, I just don't get the objections.

People just like to criticize really stupid things, and that's what this story is all about.

btw - sign up for a new gmail account and it asks for your gender; Male, Female, Other. :-)

[Litlos]

A correction to the headline and subsequent erroneous statements that this is Australia. It is Sydney New South Wales, not Australia. The state courts of NSW do not make commonwealth law for the rest of the country or impact the laws of the other states and territories.

Cheers

[Mosha]

A correction to the headline and subsequent erroneous statements that this is Australia. It is Sydney New South Wales, not Australia. The state courts of NSW do not make commonwealth law for the rest of the country or impact the laws of the other states and territories.

Cheers

Why let the truth spoil a good story though?

[Potosi]

I wonder what the chromosome makeup on people like this generally is. Do they have an extra chromosome--at least those that are biologically suffering from mixed sex syndrome?

Complex story. There are only the XY and XX variants, but hormons or lack of them screws it all up sometimes. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Androgen_insensitivity_syndrome

[ABCer]

Ridiculous.

Yeah, the only ridiculous thing about it is that it took them so long.

Those 'third gender' people exist, it's a fact of Nature. Whether they like it or not is their business.

Legal recognition of the fact so late is a reflection on the Australia and its Legal System.

First or last - they are slow thinkers.

Ancient Greeks were smarter

[geriatrickid]

Even those humans born with both male and female genitalia will be either female or male.

Doubtful.

See here: http://www.isna.org/faq/conditions

Perhaps you should read the actual health literature. A manifestation of a sexual identity, i.e. a behaviour, does not change the physical state.

[geriatrickid]

What's next?

Not much!

That's the point. This means NOTHING except to a tiny minority. How about live and let live?

Fine, then can we please stop remaking things over to satisfy a very small group. If someone wants to identify as asexual, good for it. There is always a dominating aspect in an intersex person. If it is a masculine predisposition, then the intersex is male etc. This doesn't mean there is discrimination or any denial of human rights. That person can identify with whatever group he wants, but a behavioural desire doesn't change the physical reality.

You speak Spanish don't you? In Spanish, all nouns are either masculine or feminine. el jardin - garden - masculine, la Universidad - university, feminine.The same for the French language. Le cheval is masculine for the horse. Ma jambe - My leg, and even though I am a guy, my leg is feminine. No one bothers the French or the Spanish speakers to remove gender from their language. It only seems to occur with English.

[Jasun]

This will throw another spanner in the same sex marriage debate. Non-sex marriage?

[Ulysses G.]

Same sex marriage is just the beginning of this type of stuff.

[Morakot]

Even those humans born with both male and female genitalia will be either female or male.

Doubtful.

See here: http://www.isna.org/faq/conditions

Perhaps you should read the actual health literature. A manifestation of a sexual identity, i.e. a behaviour, does not change the physical state.

That's the literature I was actually referring to. Yes, I agree manifestation of a sexual identity does not necessarily relate to a physical or physiological state.