ISSUES
: Sexuality and Gender
Chapter 2: Gender identity
19
Trans* people banned from
marrying (1967)
In the case of Talbot (otherwise
Poyntz) Vs. Talbot, Judge Ormerod
ruled that trans* people were not
permitted to marry under British
law.
“Marriage is a relationship which
depends on sex, not on gender.” –
Judge Benjamin Ormerod
Jan Morris (born 1926 – age 88)
Jan is a Welsh historian, author
and travel writer. In 1953 she was
part of the first British team to
successfully climb Mount Everest.
She transitioned in the 1960s and
chose to undergo surgery abroad,
as doing it in the UK would have
meant the Government forced
her to divorce her wife. They were
ultimately forced to divorce anyway,
but remained together and entered
a civil partnership in 2008. She
accepted a CBE in 1999, but says
she did it only to be polite and that
she remains a Welsh nationalist
republican. In 2008
The Times
named her one of the 15 greatest
writers since the war.
The Self Help Association for
Transexuals (formed 1980)
SHAFT was formed in 1980, as a
mutual aid organisation through
which trans* people could collect
and share useful information.
Legal rights for trans* people
(2002–today)
It was not until 2002 that the
UK Government stated that
“transexualism is not a mental
illness”. It was not until 2005 that
trans* people in the UK were able
to change their legal gender. There
still exists complex and time-
consuming bureaucracy that trans*
people must navigate in order to
achieve this. Cuts made to the
NHS and other public services
under the current government have
meant that waiting lists for trans*
people to get life-saving medical
treatments are now measured in
years rather than months.
Transgender Day of
Remembrance (1999–today)
Since 1999, on 20 November,
trans* people around the world
have gathered to remember those
killed as a result of transphobia,
especially those murdered in hate
crimes. Each year, there is at least
one memorial in Manchester, which
is organised by the local trans*
community. It is an important time
for the community to remember
those they have lost and that the
fight for trans* rights is far from
over.
Further reading and
research
There are few high-quality
resources on trans* history. Those
that do exist may conflate trans*
and LGB people and/or may not
respect the preferred pronouns of
trans* people.
More research and awareness is
urgently needed!
A good starting point is to use
search engines to research the
people and events outlined in this
article.
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The above information has
been reprinted with kind
permission from Action for
Trans Health. Please visit www.
actionfortranshealth.org.uk for
further information.
© Action for Trans Health 2016
“Marriage is a
relationship which
depends on sex, not
on gender”
Transgender
women
male-to-female
T
r
a
n
s
g
e
n
d
e
r
U
m
b
r
e
l
l
a
Transgender
men
female-to-male
Crossdressing
people
comfortable with their physical gender
at birth, but will occasionally dress
like the opposite gender
Trans non-binary people
Not exclusively one gender:
- identify as both masculine and feminine (androgynous)
- identify between male and female (intergender)
- neutral or don’t identify with a gender (agender)
Source:
Trans umbrella
, The Scottish Transgender Alliance, 2016
Please note that this is not an
exhaustive list and that terminology
is evolving all the time and so
definitions may change in the future.
