Transgender identity in law and society : finding the meaning of the words "man", "woman" and "transgender"

Abstract

"Transgender", "man" and "woman" are terms that exist in both legal and social contexts, however, they are perceived differently and have different degrees of relevance for transgender people. These gendered terms were imposed on transgender people and have potentially a profound impact on the course of their lives. This thesis therefore looks at questions of transgender identity from two points of view. It analyzes legal cases from a number of jurisdictions in order to understand how law deals with fundamental questions about human sexual identity, but it also offers another perspective, in that it draws on interviews with transgender people in Hong Kong. It is important not to limit the scope of the investigation to just one of these aspects, either law or society. These two domains are equally significant, because transgender people often need to subject themselves to the law in order to fight for particular rights; in addition, they have to constantly reflect on gendered labelling, manage their gender identity and interact with the social norms of being a man and a woman, in order to live fully in their affirmed gender role. When it comes to the question as to how transgender people are understood by the law and by the society, including transgender people themselves, there appears to be a significant divide. Law in general holds to a binary theory of gender and only presents us with a fraction of the stories of the transgender people. However, when we pay attention to how transgender people actually function in the society and manage their gender identities, we will realize that questions of sex and gender, about the "transgender phenomenon", are in fact more sophisticated. Hence, this thesis intends to study the way law classifies and defines fundamental terms such as "sex", "man" and "woman" and at the same time seeks to include the voices of transgender people in Hong Kong. It also explores how legal and social reflexivity interact and respond to each other on the matter of transgender understanding. My research hopes to contribute to both the transgender community and the Hong Kong society by enhancing people's understanding of transgender phenomenon.