Expanding Gender and Expanding the Law: A New Focus

on Transgender Issues

In July 2005, a ground-breaking piece on gender identity and transgender issues was published by Dylan Vade in the University of Michigan Journal of Gender and Law.

Dylan Vade is a transgender attorney and activist who co‑founded and co‑directed the Transgender Law Center (TLC) in San Francisco. He has a J.D. from Stanford University and a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

In his Michigan piece, Dylan Vade documents in great detail what it means to be a transgender person, and analyzes the nature of the challenges that transgender persons face. He conceptualizes a non-linear view of gender, which he calls the “gender galaxy.” And he explains how this conceptualization can not only help foster greater understanding of transgender issues, but also help address the persistent mistreatment of transgender persons under the law and as a matter of policy.

EXPANDING GENDER AND EXPANDING THE LAW: TOWARD A SOCIAL AND LEGAL

CONCEPTUALIZATION OF GENDER THAT IS MORE INCLUSIVE OF TRANSGENDER PEOPLE

11 Mich. J. Gender & L. 253 (2005)

Table of Contents

Introduction                                                         255

I.     A Conceptualization of Gender that Is Inclusive and Respectful      264

of Transgender People

        A. A Description of Transgender Communities                        264

          1. Gender Diversity                                              265

          2. Change and Fluidity                                           267

3. Body Diversity                                                268

          4. Sexual Orientations                                           270

          5. Diversity of Experiences and Narratives                       271

        B. A Non‑Linear View of Gender‑‑The Gender Galaxy                 273

          1. Each Person Has a Gender, a Place in the Gender Galaxy        275

          2. The Multiplicity in the Gender Galaxy Is Not a Void           277

II.    Against the Use of the Sex‑Gender Distinction: It Is Not Logical    278

and It Is Harmful to Transgender People

        A. De‑Naturalizing Sex: Sex Is Not to Nature as Gender Is to       278

        Culture‑‑ Both Sex and Gender Are Social Constructs and

        Socially Real

        B. The Sex‑Gender Distinction Takes the Power to Self‑Define    284

from Transgender People and Hands It to Non‑Transgender People

and the Medical Establishment

        C. The Sex‑Gender Distinction Reinforces an Environment that     287

        Places Transgender People in Physical Danger

        D. The Sex‑Gender Split Assumes Transgender People Are Not   289

        Whole, Cuts Bodies off from Minds, and Cuts Bodies into Pieces

        E. No Sex‑Gender Distinction, Indeed No Sex                        290

III.   Toward Law and Policy that Is More Inclusive of Transgender       292

        People

A. The Law's Relation with Transgender People‑‑Fraught with       292

        Difficulty, but Slowly Moving Forward

        B. The Sex‑Gender Distinction Is One of the Most Harmful           297

        Underlying Concepts Used by Courts Across the Board

        C. Cases that Use the Sex‑Gender Distinction                       298

          1. Hartin v. Director of Bureau of Records                       298

          2. Anonymous v. Weiner                                           300

          3. Frances B. v. Mark B.                                         301

          4. M.T. v. J.T.                                                  302

          5. Goins v. West Group                                           304

          6. In re Estate of Gardiner                                      305

        D. One Case that Moves away from the Sex‑Gender Distinction:   306

        Doe v. Yunits

IV.    Conclusion and Suggestions                                          310

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Last Updated: July 29, 2005