Sex, Gender and International Human Rights Law: Contesting Binaries

This book explores the relationship between sex and gender under international human rights law and how this influences the formation of individual subjects. It challenges the assumptions underpinning interpretations of sex, gender, and gender identity, and suggests that dominant and subordinate postures interchangeably attach to femininities and masculinities depending on the subjects roles, positionalities, and the situational meanings of their acts.

Format: Hardback
Length: 256 pages
Publication date: 01 December 2023
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

This book delves into the intricate relationship between sex and gender within the framework of international human rights law, exploring how these factors shape the formation of individual subjects. By integrating feminist, queer, and psychoanalytical perspectives, the author critically examines the sexed/gendered human rights discourse, shedding light on the underlying assumptions that underpin interpretations of sex, gender, and related concepts such as gender identity, sex characteristics, and sexual orientation.

The author argues that human rights law has, thus far, provided a limited understanding of the diverse spectrum of sexed/gendered subjectivities, largely due to a series of simplistic assumptions. These assumptions include the notion that there are only two sexes and two genders; sex is a natural fact, while gender is a social construct; gender serves as a metonymic signifier for women; and gender power relations take the form of male domination versus female oppression.

However, the author challenges these assumptions by highlighting the fluidity and interchangeability of dominant and subordinate postures associated with femininities and masculinities, depending on the subjects' roles, positionalities, and the contextual meanings of their actions. This examination reveals the limitations of an approach to gender that relies on rigid binaries, as demonstrated through two case studies.

The first case study examines the vocabulary used by the United Nations human rights treaty bodies regarding medically unnecessary interventions upon intersex children. The author argues that the binary framework employed by these bodies fails to recognize the diversity of gender identities and experiences, perpetuating harmful practices and marginalizing intersex individuals.

The second case study focuses on the narrative of the European Court of Human Rights regarding sadomasochism. The author critiques the court's approach, which often perpetuates stereotypes and reinforces gender binaries, failing to acknowledge the complexities and nuances of sexual practices and relationships.

Through this comprehensive examination of the impact of human rights on gendered subjectivities, the book offers valuable insights to scholars, students, and researchers in international law, gender studies, queer studies, cultural studies, critical race theory, and psychoanalysis. It encourages a more nuanced and inclusive understanding of the diverse experiences and identities within the human rights framework.

Weight: 670g
Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032456119