Non-Binary Identities & the Law

As anti-discrimination laws around the county expand to include gender identity and gender expression, it’s important to think about who is included and who is at risk of being left out.

Some may think these laws refer only to those who transition. However, Transgender Law Center feels strongly that those who identify as non-binary (including genderqueer, gender fluid, two spirit, and so much more!) are already covered under various state and federal anti-discrimination laws.

This is the topic of TLC legal fellow Shawn Thomas Meerkamper’s law review article “Contesting Sex Classification: The Need for Genderqueers as a Cognizable Class.” In the paper, Shawn examines existing employment discrimination laws, focusing on those who use gender-neutral pronouns. Shawn goes on to make bold constitutional arguments for the ability to opt out of gender markers on government IDs.

Shawn’s paper was awarded the Jeffrey S. Haber Prize for student scholarship and published by the Williams Institute in the 2013 edition of the Dukeminier Awards Journal.

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