The development of legal rights for intersex persons: Part II: Advancement

Having addressed the nature and complexity of intersexuality including commonalities with and differences from the transgender condition, we now address major legal challenges to the bisexual status quo through the legal advancement of rights for intersexual persons. Identified here are four domains in which the rights of intersex individuals are being advanced through litigation and legislation: (a) Sex assignment at birth and in early childhood, including the individual's right to consent and self-determination and to be spared from surgery that is not needed for medical reasons; (b) the right to change one's legal sex on legal documents such as birth certificates and passports, (c) the right of intersex persons to marry, and (d) the right not to be discriminated against. Within this legal framework, we identify commonalities with and differences from the struggle for rights within the transgender community.