Transgender Family Law


Book Description

Transgender people have unique needs and vulnerabilities in the family law context. Any family law attorney engaged in representing transgender clients must know the ins and outs of this rapidly developing area of law. Transgender Family Law: A Guide to Effective Advocacy is the first book to comprehensively address legal issues facing transgender people in the family law context and provide practitioners the tools to effectively represent transgender clients. The chapters address a broad range of topics, including: Culturally Competent Representation, Recognition of Name and Sex, Relationship Recognition and Protections, Protecting Parental Rights, Relationship Dissolution, Parental Rights after Relationship Dissolution, Custody Disputes Involving Transgender Children, Protections for Transgender Youth, Intimate Partner Violence, Estate Planning and Elder Law. Written by attorneys with expertise in both family law and advocacy for transgender clients, including: Kylar W. Broadus, Patience Crozier, Benjamin L. Jerner, Michelle B. LaPointe, Jennifer L. Levi, Morgan Lynn, Shannon Price Minter, Elizabeth E. Monnin-Browder, Zack M. Paakkonen, Terra Slavin, Wayne A. Thomas Jr., Deborah H. Wald, and Janson Wu, Transgender Family Law is a must-have, practical guide for attorneys interested in becoming effective advocates for their clients. It is also a valuable resource to consult for any transgender person who is forming, expanding, or dissolving a family relationship.




Transgender Rights


Book Description

"Transgender Rights packs a surprising amount of information into a small space. Offering spare, tightly executed essays, this slim volume nonetheless succeeds in creating a spectacular, well-researched compendium of the transgender movement." -Law Library Journal Over the past three decades, the transgender movement has gained visibility and achieved significant victories. Discrimination has been prohibited in several states, dozens of municipalities, and more than two hundred private companies, while hate crime laws in eight states have been amended to include gender identity. Yet prejudice and violence against transgender people remain all too common. With analysis from legal and policy experts, activists and advocates, Transgender Rights assesses the movement's achievements, challenges, and opportunities for future action. Examining crucial topics like family law, employment policies, public health, economics, and grassroots organizing, this groundbreaking book is an indispensable resource in the fight for the freedom and equality of those who cross gender boundaries. Moving beyond media representations to grapple with the real lives and issues of transgender people, Transgender Rights will launch a new moment for human rights activism in America. Contributors: Kylar W. Broadus, Judith Butler, Mauro Cabral, Dallas Denny, Taylor Flynn, Phyllis Randolph Frye, Julie A. Greenberg, Morgan Holmes, Bennett H. Klein, Jennifer L. Levi, Ruthann Robson, Nohemy Solórzano-Thompson, Dean Spade, Kendall Thomas, Paula Viturro, Willy Wilkinson. Paisley Currah is associate professor of political science at Brooklyn College, executive director of the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies at the CUNY Graduate Center, and a founding board member of the Transgender Law and Policy Institute. Richard M. Juang cochairs the advisory board of the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) in Washington, DC. He has taught at Oberlin College and Susquehanna University. He is the lead editor of NCTE's Responding to Hate Crimes: A Community Resource Manual and coeditor of Transgender Justice, which explores models of activism. Shannon Price Minter is legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights and a founding board member of the Transgender Law and Policy Institute.




A Practical Guide to Transgender Law


Book Description

A comprehensive volume filling a notable gap in the legal library. The book has introductory sections on the facts and language related to trans, and then substantial sections on the relevant parts of the Equality Act 2010 as related to transgender individuals, and the Gender Recognition Act 2004. Specialist sections then follow, dealing with Associations, Asylum, Criminal Justice, Data Protection, Education, Employment, Family, Healthcare, Media, Name and Gender Marker Change; Politics and Parliament, Prison, Services, Sport, Gender-critical views, Example Policies and Reform. Some sections have been written with assistance from recognised experts in their field. ABOUT THE AUTHORS ROBIN MOIRA WHITE of Old Square Chambers (1995 Call) became the first barrister to transition in practice at the discrimination bar in 2011 and has lectured and written extensively on transgender matters for both employers and employees. She has been recognised by Chambers and Partners as the 'Go to' lawyer for trans matters and has an extensive practice in heavyweight discrimination. She acted in the Taylor v Jaguar Land Rover case in 2020. NICOLA NEWBEGIN of Old Square Chambers is a former solicitor who was called to the bar in 2008. As well as having a substantial employment and discrimination practice, including trans-related cases, she is recognised for her professional disciplinary practice, especially in healthcare. She has related interests in data protection and judicial review.




Transgender Persons and the Law


Book Description

This groundbreaking book is intended to educate and inform practitioners on the various laws and landmark court cases involving transgendered individuals in a number of legal situations. It discusses the myriad legal documents transgendered persons need to understand before filling out paperwork and includes a DVD containing a complete set of forms for all 50 states and the District of Columbia for name changes and, for those jurisdictions that allow it, birth certificate changes.




LGBTQ Divorce and Relationship Dissolution


Book Description

LGBTQ Divorce and Relationship Dissolution: Psychological and Legal Perspectives and Implications for Practice brings together social science and legal perspectives to examine the timely topic of relationship dissolution and divorce among sexual and gender minorities.




Legalizing LGBT Families


Book Description

In-depth interviews examine the role of the law in the lives of LGBT parents The decision to have a child is seldom a simple one, often fraught with complexities regarding emotional readiness, finances, marital status, and compatibility with life and career goals. Rarely, though, do individuals consider the role of the law in facilitating or inhibiting their ability to have a child or to parent. For LGBT individuals, however, parenting is saturated with legality - including the initial decision of whether to have a child, how to have a child, whether one's relationship with their child will be recognized, and everyday acts of parenting. Through interviews with 137 LGBT parents, Amanda K. Baumle and D'Lane R. Compton examine the role of the law in the lives of LGBT parents and how individuals use the law when making decisions about family formation or parenting. Baumle and Compton explore the ways in which LGBT parents participate in the process of constructing legality through accepting, modifying, or rejecting legal meanings about their families. They conclude that legality is constructed through a complex interplay of legal context, social networks, individual characteristics, and familial desires. Ultimately, the stories of LGBT parents in this book reflect a rich and varied relationship between the law, the state, and the private family goals of individuals.




The Legal Status of Transsexual and Transgender Persons


Book Description

The need to allow for a legal change of sex/gender, in certain cases, is no longer disputed in most jurisdictions. For European countries, there is no question as to whether such a change should be allowed after the decision of the European Court of Human Rights in Goodwin v. United Kingdom (Application No. 28957/95). The question has therefore shifted to what the requirements should be for such a legal change. Many jurisdictions have legislated or developed an administrative approach to changing sex/gender, but the requirements differ significantly from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, particularly with regard to age, nationality, and marital status, as well as the medical and psychological requirements. The latter, in some jurisdictions, still include surgery and sterility as a precondition, thus potentially forcing the persons concerned to choose between the recognition of their sex/gender identity and their physical integrity. This book examines questions that are thus far under-researched, namely what the full legal consequences of a legal change of sex/gender should be - for example, with regard to the existing legal relationships, such as marriages and registered partnerships, but also concerning children and parentage. The Legal Status of Transsexual and Transgender Persons is the result of an international research project, including not only national reports from 14 European and non-European jurisdictions, but also two chapters that look at legal sex/gender changes from a Christian perspective, and one chapter from a medical-psychological perspective. The final chapter compares and contrasts the different approaches and requirements and makes recommendations for best practice and law reform.




Raising Ryland


Book Description

This powerful, moving story—which has already touched more than seven million through a viral video created by the Whittington family—is a mother’s first-hand account of her emotional choice to embrace her transgender child. When Hillary and Jeff Whittington posted a YouTube video chronicling their five-year-old son Ryland’s transition from girl to boy, they didn’t expect it to be greeted with such fervor. Beautiful and moving, the video documenting Hillary’s and Jeff’s love for their child instantly went viral and has been seen by more than seven million viewers since its posting in May 2014. Now for the first time, they tell their story in full, offering an emotional and moving account of their journey alongside their exceptional child. After they discovered their daughter Ryland was deaf at age one and needed cochlear implants, the Whittingtons spent nearly four years successfully teaching Ryland to speak. But once Ryland gained the power of speech, it was time for them to listen as Ryland insisted, “I am a boy!” And listen they did. After learning that forty-one percent of people who identify as transgender attempt to take their own lives, Hillary and her husband Jeff made it their mission to support their child—no matter what. From the earliest stages of deciphering Ryland through clothing choices to examining the difficult conversations that have marked every stage of Ryland’s transition, Hillary Whittington shares her experiences as a mother through it all, demonstrating both the resistance and support that their family has encountered as they try to erase the stigma surrounding the word “transgender.” In telling her family’s story, she hopes she can assist the world in accepting that even children as young as five, can have profound and impactful things to say and share. What emerges is a powerful story of unconditional love, accepting others for who they are, and doing what’s right, regardless of whether those around you understand it.




Transgender Jurisprudence


Book Description

'Transgender Jurisprudence: Dysphoric Bodies of Lawis an important book. … Sharpe’s discussion [of trangender jurisprudence]… is convincing and thought-provoking, … his observations incisive and legally persuasive … [and] his examination of the fundamental heterosexism and phallocentricity of "reform" jurisprudence is brilliant.' -Queen’s Law Journal (Vol 28(1) 2002 pp 363-369 at pp 365, 366, 368 and 369), Professor Bruce MacDougall of the Faculty of Law, University of British Columbia, Vancouver 'Transgender Jurisprudenceis a work of the most careful and comprehensive scholarship … [and] … will, I have no doubt, be a standard resource to all those who have reason to work in the area, both as practicing lawyers, activists, or academics, in years to come.' -Sydney Law Review (Vol 24 2002 pp 442-448 at p 443), Professor Desmond Manderson, Canada Research Chair in Law & Discourse, McGill University, Montreal 'Transgender Jurisprudenceprovides an excellent, well-researched contribution to the fields of transgender studies and jurisprudence concerning gender and sexuality. … It is also a valuable contribution to wider discussions concerning feminism, poststructuralism and queer studies.' -Res Publica (Vol 8(3) 2002 pp 275-283 at pp 282-283), Dr Surya Munro of the Department of Law, Keele University '[Sharpe] expresses the hope that the book has made an important contribution ... That it has done so is beyond doubt. Indeed more than a contribution, Sharpe has comprehensively reshaped and redefined the field of transgender jurisprudence. … [T]he end result is a book which is not only sustained, integrated and comparative, but which introduces a set of original and sophisticated arguments that will provide an indispensable grounding for subsequent work in the field for some time to come.' -Griffith Law Review (Vol 12(2) 2003 pp 387-390 at p 390), Professor Rosemary Hunter, Dean of the Faculty of Law, Griffith University [Transgender Jurisprudence] has already become a foundational work by which others will be measured. … [It] sets a high bar … As one who litigates cases on behalf of transgender people as well as those involving same-sex couples seeking marriage rights, I think Sharpe has done an incredible job identifying [homophobia as] the source of the tension in such cases.' - Adelaide Law Review Vol 24(2) 2003 pp 99-104 at 104.




The Trans Generation


Book Description

Winner, 2019 PROSE Award for Anthropology, Criminology and Sociology, presented by the Association of American Publishers A groundbreaking look at the lives of transgender children and their families Some “boys” will only wear dresses; some “girls” refuse to wear dresses; in both cases, as Ann Travers shows in this fascinating account of the lives of transgender kids, these are often more than just wardrobe choices. Travers shows that from very early ages, some at two and three years old, these kids find themselves to be different from the sex category that was assigned to them at birth. How they make their voices heard—to their parents and friends, in schools, in public spaces, and through the courts—is the focus of this remarkable and groundbreaking book. Based on interviews with transgender kids, ranging in age from 4 to 20, and their parents, and over five years of research in the US and Canada, The Trans Generation offers a rare look into what it is like to grow up as a trans child. From daycare to birthday parties and from the playground to the school bathroom, Travers takes the reader inside the day-to-day realities of trans kids who regularly experience crisis as a result of the restrictive ways in which sex categories regulate their lives and put pressure on them to deny their internal sense of who they are in gendered terms. As a transgender activist and as an advocate for trans kids, Travers is able to document from first-hand experience the difficulties of growing up trans and the challenges that parents can face. The book shows the incredible time, energy, and love that these parents give to their children, even in the face of, at times, unsupportive communities, schools, courts, health systems, and government laws. Keeping in mind that all trans kids are among the most vulnerable to bullying, violent attacks, self-harm, and suicide, and that those who struggle with poverty, racism, lack of parental support, learning differences, etc, are extremely at risk, Travers offers ways to support all trans kids through policy recommendations and activist interventions. Ultimately, the book is meant to open up options for kids’ own gender self-determination, to question the need for the sex binary, and to highlight ways that cultural and material resources can be redistributed more equitably. The Trans Generation offers an essential and important new understanding of childhood.