Gender recognition at the crossroads: Four models and the compass of comparative law

Abstract

The article explores the different constitutional developments of the right to gender recognition and discusses their potential to protect trans and nonbinary people. Focusing on a few selected jurisdictions, each incarnating a specific kind of recognition system, it also proposes a conceptual map to understand and identify the different shapes of such a right. The article argues that four types of gender recognition can be identified, each with their own characteristics, advantages, peculiarities, and set of challenges for trans and nonbinary people and for the system of gender categorization itself. In clarifying this area of law, the article contends that the very process of creation and policing of gender identities and categories represents a critical aspect of contemporary gender constitutionalism.