Document Type

Article

Abstract

This article analyzes gender reclassification policies, which determine when an administrative agency will record a change to an individual's gender marker. It’s analysis takes place in three policy contexts: placement in gender-segregated facilities, changing gender marker on IDs, state provision of healthcare that prohibit gender discrimination on the record for those seeking care. It looks at the significant variation in these policies across agencies to demonstrate the instability of gender as a category of identity verification. The article also asks whether the assumed usefulness of gender for identity tracking in the variety of state programs reviewed is well-founded, and it places these concerns in the context of the "War on Terror," which has included many policy innovations aimed at standardizing recordkeeping and surveillance nationally.

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