High Court to decide Norrie’s case, once and for all
By Phoebe Moloney
The Supreme Court’s breakthrough ruling to allow New South Wales residents to record their sex as neither male nor female on legal documents was contested last week in the High Court.
Norrie mAy-welby, who identifies as being neither exclusively male nor female, has been an advocate for the legal recognition of sexual categories beyond the male/female binary. In 2010, the NSW Registrar rejected Norrie’s application to change the sex recorded on their Birth Certificate from ‘male’ to ‘not-specific’.
Last May, the Supreme Court overruled the Registrar’s decision, finding the construction of the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act allowed for a non-binary understanding of Norrie’s sex.
But the Registrar appealed, maintaining that “the [Supreme] court erred in confusing issues of personal sexual identity with legal categorisation of sex”. That appeal was heard in the High Court of Australia last Tuesday.
Norrie, who identifies as neuter and does not have gonads or hormonal levels typical to either males nor females, says the appeal reflects the need for “a shift in the thinking in the modern law system from having to classify people as one thing or another”.
“That everyone has to be male or female and that this is a necessary premise of our law is just an assumption. And assuming makes an ass out of you and me,” they said.
With the majority of sex-specific laws being dismantled in the past half-century, Norrie believes “recognising people as they see themselves” will only act to further social progress.
“Society is moving more and more towards equality between the sexes. So why should it matter if your legal identity is male or female?” they asked.
“A woman with prostate cancer needs to be operated on, a man with a uterus still needs to be treated. Our sex shouldn’t determine what treatment we get from society, what rights we have or what jobs we can do.”
The Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) similarly recommended that a ‘sex unspecified’ category be added to all legal documentation in its 2009 report on sex discrimination.
In regard to that report, Norrie affirmed: “There has been a lot of consultation with intersex, sexually and gender diverse communities in this matter. I am not an outsider. In fact, I think I am acting in line with the establishment.”
If the appeal fails, Norrie is confident that a change in the legal procedure of sex registration will be a positive one.
“I think allowing people more freedom in how their sex is listed on legal documentation, if at all, is workable and can only benefit us all,” they said.
The High Court’s judgment on whether it is lawful to introduce a third category of sex identification in to NSW legislation is expected to be passed down within the next three months.
