The process that trans* people have to go through to change their gender entry is inhuman. Activist and consultant for trans rights agrees, Julia Monro so. In an interview with ZDFneo, she only lists a few key points that show how humiliating the process is: “In the past, the law required trans* people to get a divorce. That was overturned by the Federal Constitutional Court in 2008. They also had to have surgery to render them incapacitated, which was the case up until 2011.”
The “Transsexual Law” still applies today
Many parts of the “transsexual law” still apply. Trans* people have to present themselves to the district court, whereupon two psychotherapists are assigned to them as experts. The therapists have to answer questions that are deeply humiliating. On Reddit, a:e user:divided into some questions he:she needed to answer in order to have his:her real gender recognized.
Examples include: “Would imagining having sex with an animal make you sexually aroused?” or “Why aren’t you dealing with a transvestite fetishism?”
That means two strangers decide whether a person can be a woman or a man on paper or not – depending on how convincingly you have answered these intimate questions. There is no question of self-determination. That is why the Self-Determination Act also calls for this. However, many women seem to be afraid of this.
The Self-Determination Act (particularly by women) has to contend with this criticism
Trigger warning: Attention, the following part addresses (sexual) violence against women.
With the help of Kalle Hümpfner and Patricia Schuettler I have taken four common arguments against the Self-Determination Act – and invalidated them – so that you can do the same with your concerned acquaintances, relatives and friends.
Statement: “There are only two genders”
The reasoning:
This argument sets the theory of biologism absolutely. Basically, it is about reducing the complexity of biological sex to male and female. This is a theory also shared by some scientists (and by some parts of the internet). she is one Theory of different scientific approaches – because as in all other scientific disciplines, there is a wide range of opinions, theories and discussions.
The context:
Biologism is a common theory, but it has received renewed attention from Marie-Luise Vollbrecht (co-author of an anti-trans article in the World in June 2022) and her university lecture “Gender is not (gen)gender: sex, gender and why there are two sexes in biology”. Their gist is that there are two biologically separable sexes. Biological sex can be determined by the gametes, which are gonads.
The truth:
Patricia Schüttler says: “Actually, the question of two genders can no longer be asked, since intersex is also legally recognized.” While she acknowledges that a dual sex system is needed for reproduction, sex does not only refer to the chromosomal and physically visible, but also arises through interaction within our society (social sex).
Kalle Hümpfner also explains that “there have been various scientific theories covering more than two genders for more than a hundred years.”