The status of Non-Binary in european legislation: a comparison of definitions and legal and political frameworks

  • Paloma Ellis Montalbán University of Deusto
  • Edurne Bartolomé Peral University of Deusto
Keywords: gender identity, Non-Binary gender, legal recognition, gender marker, Europe

Abstract

People of non-binary gender are those who do not identify with man-woman dichotomy present in western cultures including Spanish. The recognition of these identities should be included in the social inclusions objectives of any democracy that respects the right to gender self-determination as a fundamental part of the right to privacy and legal inclusion.Although non-binary people still have little recognition at the legal, academic and social level, several European countries have taken concrete, legislative steps to recognize the existence of non-binary people, thereby granting access to many of their civil rights.Despite their having been legal proposals since 2017 advocating for the expansion of the rights of trans* people, and a greater representation of non-binary people in some media, Spain does not yet recognize non-binary gender identities at a national level.Using Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany and Malta as examples of countries who have formalized the legal recognition of non-binary gender, we propose to make a comparative analysis of each country’s LGBT + rights, comparing their definitions, starting points and most recent legal measures, analyzing the relationship between the initial approaches and definitions and the legal measures and public policy approaches.

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Author Biographies

Paloma Ellis Montalbán, University of Deusto
Investigadore Pre-Doctoral en Derechos Humanos
Edurne Bartolomé Peral, University of Deusto
Doctora Encargada en Ciencias Políticas y Sociología

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Published
2020-12-23
How to Cite
Ellis Montalbán, Paloma, and Edurne Bartolomé Peral. 2020. “The Status of Non-Binary in European Legislation: a Comparison of Definitions and Legal and Political Frameworks”. Inguruak. Revista Vasca De Sociología Y Ciencia Política, no. 69 (December). https://doi.org/10.18543/inguruak-69-2020-art02.
Section
ARTICLES