Labour and Green MPs have waded into the fiery debate over transgender women's place in contemporary feminism.



Over the past several weeks, prominent New Zealand feminists have clashed with transgender activists over the issues of biological sex and self-identification.

It all boils down to a fundamental disagreement over what it means to be a woman.

Shifting beliefs about biology and identity mean that to many in 2018, gender is more complicated than a simple binary differentiation, defined by genitalia.

The increased awareness and acceptance of transgender identities in New Zealand and other countries means there's now greater support for people being allowed to live as the gender they feel most comfortable with, rather than what's on their birth certificate.

A recent Ministry of Health submission by lobby group The Trans Dignity Collective proposed that references to biological sex not be included in patient identification data, as the concept is "derogatory" to trans people and could put them in danger by "outing" them as trans.

"A field for 'biological sex recorded at birth' is particularly bad as it implies a fixed concept that cannot be changed," the submission reads.

In August, a Government select committee recommended simplifying the process by which Kiwis can change the gender marker on their birth certificates.

But in recent weeks, several high-profile feminists have rejected the idea that trans women can claim womanhood and therefore be included in women's rights activism.

Renee Gerlich, who angered trans activists in August by designing suffrage commemoration posters that seemed to deliberately exclude those not of the "female sex", has accused politicians who support trans rights of "abandoning women for 'gender identity'".