3 ms·

Why should there be a legal definition of gender in the first place?

epicureanideal 8y ago
Just some ideas... 1. Identification purposes. It eliminates about 50% of the population if your sex is specified on your identification. Hair color and eye color are also usually shown on a drivers license. 2. Categorization for sports competitions for fairness. 3. Categorization for restroom usage, locker rooms, etc., given that people still do on average have feelings of modesty such that they don't want to be seen undressed by the opposite sex. 4. Sexual partners may want some proof of how you were born. People could argue whether it's their right or not to have this, but overall I would guess that 90%+ of our society does still care about this, so the law could validly provide for this interest of the majority of society. 5. Laws and other treat men and women differently. Who gets drafted, for example. Retirement ages in some countries are sex-based.
- dragonwriter 8y ago
  > Identification purposes. It eliminates about 50% of the population if your sex is specified on your identification Only to the point extent you assume external presentation matches the gender on the ID, which is less likely if that ascribed gender isn't aligned to gender identity. (But not guaranteed in any case, so not a reliable basis for elimination.) If gender on ID is based immutably on genitals at birth, it only helps eliminate people for identification purposes if those people are conveniently displaying accurate pictures of their birth genitals, which is an exceedingly rare circumstance.
- tzs 8y ago
  > Categorization for restroom usage, locker rooms, etc., given that people still do on average have feelings of modesty such that they don't want to be seen undressed by the opposite sex So what happens with people who have sex reassignment surgery? If Bob's got a penis now but his birth certificate says "female", Bob has to use the woman's locker room and the woman's restroom if we go by birth certificate and simple genetics. It is possible in most states to get a birth certificate updated after sex reassignment surgery, but it is not automatic, and may take time and money so there likely will be people who do not bother. BTW, a large fraction of the population doesn't want to be seen undressed in front of strangers of any sex. If we want to make the most people happy, maybe we should design things so that we have more privacy in bathrooms?

Just some ideas... 1. Identification purposes. It eliminates about 50% of the population if your sex is specified on your identification. Hair color and eye color are also usually shown on a drivers license. 2. Categorization for sports competitions for fairness. 3. Categorization for restroom usage, locker rooms, etc., given that people still do on average have feelings of modesty such that they don't want to be seen undressed by the opposite sex. 4. Sexual partners may want some proof of how you were born. People could argue whether it's their right or not to have this, but overall I would guess that 90%+ of our society does still care about this, so the law could validly provide for this interest of the majority of society. 5. Laws and other treat men and women differently. Who gets drafted, for example. Retirement ages in some countries are sex-based.

dragonwriter 8y ago
> Identification purposes. It eliminates about 50% of the population if your sex is specified on your identification Only to the point extent you assume external presentation matches the gender on the ID, which is less likely if that ascribed gender isn't aligned to gender identity. (But not guaranteed in any case, so not a reliable basis for elimination.) If gender on ID is based immutably on genitals at birth, it only helps eliminate people for identification purposes if those people are conveniently displaying accurate pictures of their birth genitals, which is an exceedingly rare circumstance.
tzs 8y ago
> Categorization for restroom usage, locker rooms, etc., given that people still do on average have feelings of modesty such that they don't want to be seen undressed by the opposite sex So what happens with people who have sex reassignment surgery? If Bob's got a penis now but his birth certificate says "female", Bob has to use the woman's locker room and the woman's restroom if we go by birth certificate and simple genetics. It is possible in most states to get a birth certificate updated after sex reassignment surgery, but it is not automatic, and may take time and money so there likely will be people who do not bother. BTW, a large fraction of the population doesn't want to be seen undressed in front of strangers of any sex. If we want to make the most people happy, maybe we should design things so that we have more privacy in bathrooms?