Abstract
The recent implementation of the Gender Recognition Act marks a
dramatic change in the regulation of transsexualism in the United
Kingdom. The author argues, however, for a cautious reading of this
development. She suggests that Corbett v. Corbett [1971] P. 83 (U.K.) and
its progeny have sought to contain the troubling effects that recognition of transsexual and intersexual embodiment might have for prevailing gender
norms. The article proposes a novel re-reading of Corbett in the context of
a little noted line of cases involving intersex spouses. Contrasting
responses to the spouses in these cases suggests that courts have been
unsympathetic to transsexuals who make manifest their agency in choosing
gender transition, while demonstrating sympathy to those whose transition
is made necessary by ambiguity or a medical mistake regarding their true
sex. She cautions that the new recognition regime continues this strategy of
containment by delegating the power to identify the true sex of transsexual
and intersex individuals to medico-legal experts rather than allowing
transsexual individuals autonomy to choose their gender identity.