The Gendered and Sexed Citizen: Different Bodies, Different Rights?

Abstract

This chapter focuses on gender identity and the rights claims arising on the part of transgender and intersex persons. While rights claims concerning intersexuality are only recently developing, the ECtHR has issued several judgments on the recognition of one’s preferred gender, the right to marry for transgender persons and discrimination in the welfare and healthcare sectors, as well as on the issue of compulsory divorce for married individuals who wish to have their preferred gender recognised in countries in which same-sex unions are not recognised. The chapter discusses the current limited possibilities existing for opening up a radical deconstruction of gender in these fora.