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Posts Tagged ‘gender identity’

Call-out for individuals who take issue with the exclusive “Male” and “Female” boxes on government documents

April 17th, 2013 Comments off

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We have just been contacted by Patricia Hluchy, Team Editor of the Features Unit at the Toronto Star, who is overseeing a story on individuals who are taking up non-binary identities and existences. According to Patricia:
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“The people were are hoping to interview are those who, whether conventionally sexed or intersex, do not feel comfortable — for whatever reason — with being streamlined into the sex categories of ‘Male’ or ‘Female’. The article will be about the limits of these sex-based categories, but also the fact that some people are opting out of either.”
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“The premise / approach of the article (to be shaped by interviews with some leading gender theoreticians / academics) will be: We have this binary sex = gender belief system, but many experts say it’s a social construct and that gender identity is way more complicated. And now, as our society continues to evolve into a less sex-determinist one (thanks in part to gay activism and the decline of homophobia), some pioneers — both academic and ‘on the street’ — are saying, ‘Enough of the gender straightjackets already'”
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“The article will also include the fact that a few countries allow individuals to check a category other than ‘Male’ or ‘Female’ on their passports; and we will try to interview Tony Briffa, a city counsellor and former mayor in Australia who is intersex and genderless.”
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“It would be great if — just for the authenticity factor — someone were willing to be photographed and to use their name. But that is not essential.”

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Indeed, I have chatted at length with P
atricia and can attest that they are highly knowledgeable about the nuances of ‘sex’ vis-a-vis ‘gender’, and in particular the real-life implications of defining ‘sex’ and ‘gender’ in binarist terms.
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If you are interested in being interviewed for this article, please contact Patricia at phluchy@thestar.ca or at 416-869-4352. Feel free to indicate if you prefer to be interviewed in writing as opposed to verbally / live.
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Towards greater visibility and awareness,
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Martin Otarola
Queer Ontario Secretary

Updates on the Amendment of the Federal ‘Gender Identity’ Bill

March 7th, 2013 Comments off

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Today, the House of Commons heard the second hour of debate on the proposed amendments to Bill C-279, the bill to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code of Canada to include ‘gender identity’ and ‘gender expression’ as protected grounds. This second-hour of debate was followed by a vote on the proposed amendments.
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Most significantly, the House of Commons voted in favour of:
(1) moving forward with the motion to remove ‘gender expression’ from the bill, to leave only ‘gender identity’; and
(2) moving forward with the motion to add the proposed definition of ‘gender identity’ to the bill, which is:

Gender identity means, in respect of an individual, the individual’s deeply felt internal individual experience of gender, which may or may not correspond with the sex that the individual was assigned at birth.

The final vote on the amendments and the final bill will take place March 20th.
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Moving Forward…

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If you haven’t already done so, please write to your MP to request that they support the bill.
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A list of current MPs, with a link to their contact information, can be found here: http://www.parl.gc.ca/MembersOfParliament/MainMPsCompleteList.aspx
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If you are unsure of who your MP is, you can find your riding here http://www.elections.ca/scripts/pss/FindED.aspx and search for it in the MP list above.
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Feel free to share this note with your contacts
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Notice of final Debate and Vote on Federal ‘Gender Identity’ Bill

March 6th, 2013 Comments off

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Sarah Manns, the parliamentary assistant to MP Randall Garrison, has provided the following update on Bill C-279 (the bill to add ‘gender identity’ and ‘gender expression’ as protected grounds in the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code of Canada):

Bill C-279 will be back up for its final hour of debate tomorrow, Thursday March 7th from 5:30 to 6:30pm. You can watch the debate live on CPAC (check your local listings) or stream it for free online at http://­­www.cpac.ca/­eng/­direct/­cpac1.

If you are here in Ottawa and would like to watch the debate live from the public gallery of the House of Commons the debate is open to the public. I would suggest arriving at Centre Block by 5:15pm as you will have to go through both general security on the ground floor and security for the public gallery.

The final vote will take place on Wednesday March 20th and will be followed be followed by a small reception. Details on that to come.

Thank you again for following and supporting the bill.

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Moving Forward…
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If you haven’t already done so, please write to your MP to request that they support the bill.
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A list of current MPs, with a link to their contact information, can be found here: http://www.parl.gc.ca/MembersOfParliament/MainMPsCompleteList.aspx
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If you are unsure of who your MP is, you can find your riding here http://www.elections.ca/scripts/pss/FindED.aspx and search for it in the MP list above.
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Feel free to share this note with your contacts,
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The Queer Ontario Steering Commitee
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