Draft transgender Bill a concrete step forward but still needs more work
Orla Tinsley, The Irish Times, Wed, Aug 7, 2013, 00:00
*TRIGGER WARNING*http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/health-family/draft-transgender-bill-a-concrete-step-forward-but-still-needs-more-work-1.1486398Language is contentious: transgender people use the words "true gender" and legislation the phrase "acquired gender". The dichotomy reflects the distance between the emotional reality and legal obligation. Both legally and emotionally, everyday things – from buying a mobile phone to accessing healthcare – are difficult for transgender people because the documents don't match up.
The new draft Bill offers some hope and is an improvement on the suggestions of an advisory group in 2011. Originally it was suggested that a diagnosis of gender identity disorder or proof of gender reassignment surgery was needed, instantly medicalising a process that is globally become decreasingly medicalised. The draft Bill removes the mental disorder diagnosis and a controversial need for a "panel of experts" to determine whether someone is living as a transgender person.
