"The Law on Changing One's Sex on the Family Register for GID People: 'Multiple Bodies' Raise a Protest"
YOSHINO Yugi
last update: 20151225
The Law on Changing One's Sex on the Family Register for GID People: "Multiple Bodies" Raise a Protest
YOSHINO Yugi
Abstract:
The Law on Changing One?fs Sex on the Family Register for Gender Identity Disorder People has been
enforced from July 2004. This law permits people with Gender Identity Disorder (GID) to change their sex on
their family register under five restrictions, one of which is having sex reassignment surgery (SRS). However,
these restrictions do not fit GID people's actual situations. In this paper, I show the gap between the law and
the actual conditions of GID people.
In Japan, this medical treatment, under certain guidelines, was introduced in 1998, but there are difficulties
related to SRS in the country, and there are difficulties in the application of the law, too. All GID people do not
always want to form genitals by SRS. Indeed, in their self-histories, many GID people emphasize a hate for
their genitals and a belief that their bodies are like a "false body." Another issue is that gender roles are
reproduced through the diagnosis of GID. In conclusion, GID people have various life courses, so it is necessary
to reexamine the law.
Keywords: Gender Identity Disorder, gender, sexuality, law, family register
REV: 20151225