To the delight of earnest Gender Studies lecturers already preparing seminars for next semester, New South Welsh-people who do not identify as either unambiguously male or female have for the first time achieved legal recognition following the NSW Court of Appeal’s overturning of a law which once stated that people must officially identify themselves with a lil’ blue ‘M,’ a cute pink ‘F’ or an abhorrent Masterchef logo.
The decision was reached following an appeal lodged by 52-year-old Sydney-based activist Norrie, who according to The Herald “identifies as a neuter and uses only a first name” and whose initial “sex not specified” status was four years ago declared invalid by the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages as part of ‘an error’.
Following a lengthy appeal process, Norrie yesterday evening received a unanimous verdict from the panel of three judges, who declared, “as a matter of construction… the word sex does not bear a binary meaning of ‘male’ or ‘female.’ The Appeal Panel [concluded] that it was not open to the Registrar to register Norrie’s sex as ‘non-specific.’”
An Administrative Decisions Tribunal will now decide on a ‘sexless’ designation for Norrie and those who have undergone similar sex affirmation or reassignment surgeries, including other intersex and androgynous Australians. This means that absolutely everybody, everybody, everybody, absolutely everybody in the whole wide country should soon [hopefully] receive recognition of their sex on the glorious spectrums of both Registry paperwork and life; as already reflected on their passports, in their fern gardens or fish tanks [if they have starfish].
Good job, NSW; you do you today, you’ve earned it.
