Amelioration, inclusion, and legal recognition: On sex, gender, and the UK 's Gender Recognition Act

Abstract

Philosophers engaged in projects of ‘ameliorative inquiry’ offer accounts of social categories, such as those of race and gender, that set aside the descriptive question of understanding those categories as they currently exist in favour of developing accounts of how we ought to think of those categories given our political goals. For feminists whose goal is to combat gender injustice, the dictionary definition of ‘woman’ as ‘adult human female’ has, on the face of it, little to offer. If we see gender injustice as arising primarily out of the system of patriarchal oppression, then understanding ‘women’ and ‘girls’ as the classes of people who are the primary targets of that oppression might seem appropriate, even if it turns out that these classes exclude some human females and include some human males. And if we see gender injustice as also involving an unjust imposition of gendered expectations and gender categories on people regardless of their own gendered understanding of their selves, then an account of ‘women’ as ‘adult human females’ might appear even to exacerbate this kind of gender injustice, by forcing people into gendered categories that are contrary to their identities. As a result, the consequence of ameliorative inquiry is often to recommend that we revise our accounts of existing concepts so as to better serve our political ends. But what should we do if, having engaged in an ameliorative inquiry, we come to the conclusion that our concepts need to be amended? Concepts and definitions have a life outside of philosophy, and presumably those convinced that revisions are needed should have something to say about what should change in our use of our concepts outside of discussions taking place in philosophy journals. In the case of gender concepts and terms such as ‘woman’ and ‘girl’, these terms have existing legal meanings and uses. The natural consequence of ameliorative inquiry should then presumably be proposals to amend our existing legal categories to better represent the targets of our inquiry. Indeed, in recent years, many jurisdictions have been grappling with the question of whether to amend the ways in which sex and/or gender are recognized in law; and so an opportunity presents itself for those involved in ameliorative inquiry into gender concepts to offer some practical proposals for legal changes. The Right to Legal Recognition. Everyone the to legal gender, gender gender sex Everyone the to regardless of gender gender sex Everyone the to change gendered in such gendered is in to be by the they are as a to is the of that we recent proposals in the in and as on in by the and in as by the in to amend the to to a system of of gender in with of should those involved in ameliorative definitions of ‘woman’ say about legal proposals the of legal sex In of that on ameliorative the ameliorative of as a and the question of what convinced by ameliorative should about the legal of sex that this is currently a in political the the as case and how existing the and the currently to the of the of ameliorative definitions of and how to amend this if we to gender in with given the of to the of this case in the should have is of the of ameliorative inquiry is to gender and concepts of which to be if our is to injustice, and of concepts are as a and having a gender of in to recent political gender is that it been the case that have for the of of gender for a of a that as of is of if it proposals that the of the a which the of be and they if are many on of the who that of ‘woman’ are to the that their is in that ‘women’ in their are for in a legal that how the of categories be and in might offer a for of a be in of of accounts of gender even if these accounts are as the on is in a legal that in they to be then with a of the of ‘woman’ that to have in the gender and how of is in the the and the in given that the on of as as of a the of sex in the the of in those who are to be even who as a ‘woman’ in this is as to the understanding of this by that for gender in the gender of a of people who as and that it is also for gender identities. how a to amend the to gender on by the and as by the the legal for those who as existing in the for those as an to legal of gender that is in with of of ‘woman’ as and also to the in a to the of gender and to the of people on of a The of this is that to a system of of gender in 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