Until very recently, the legal gender of a person-both at birth and later in life-in virtually all jurisdictions had to be recorded as either male or female; most laws simply did not allow any
other option. However, there are many cases where this gender binary is unable to capture the reality of a person’s gender identity. In 2013, Germany became the first Western jurisdiction in
modern times to introduce legislation allowing a person’s gender to be recorded as ’indeterminate’ at birth and thus give them a legal gender status other than male or female. However, despite
good intentions, this legislation has proved problematic in many ways and is subject to pertinent criticism. Several other jurisdictions are now beginning to react to challenges to the gender
binary. The Legal Status of Intersex Persons provides a basis for discussions surrounding law reform in this area. It contains contributions from medical, psychological, and theological
perspectives, as well as national legal perspectives from Germany, Malta, Australia, India, the Netherlands, Columbia, Sweden, France, and the USA. It explores international human rights
aspects of intersex legal recognition, and it features chapters on private international law and legal history. [Subject: Human Rights Law, Gender & the Law, Private International Law,
Legal History]
