Abstract
Part I of this Article defines intersexuality and highlights the legal and societal complications that occur when the concept of the fixed male-female gender binary is challenged. Part II describes the unique role of the hijras in India, who are both revered and discriminated against, and suggests that India is beginning to legally recognize a third gender through the grassroots advocacy of the hijras. Part III contrasts the experience of intersexed individuals in the United States by describing the current protocol to deal with the "medical emergency" of the birth of an intersexed child. This section forecasts legal issues facing intersexed individuals who choose to exist as a third gender in nonconformance to the male-female binary through an examination of case law on transsexuals in the marriage and employment context. The conclusion advocates the necessity of statutory reform to ensure that intersexed individuals receive the benefit of their Constitutionally protected right to equal treatment.
Recommended Citation
Jennifer Rellis,
"Please Write 'E' in This Box" Toward Self-Identification and Recognition of a Third Gender: Approaches in the United States and India,
14
Mich. J. Gender & L.
223
(2008).
Available at:
https://repository.law.umich.edu/mjgl/vol14/iss2/3
Included in
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