Non-Binaried Genders: Citizenship and the State in Norway

The last decade has seen the expansion of trans identities that are gender queer, neither male nor female, androgynous, or multiply-sexed and gendered. Within certain subcultures, gender-diverse identities have proliferated. These developments mark a major cultural shift, from a uniformly gender-binaried system to one which encompasses some degree of gender pluralism. This shift is increasingly reflected in EU Directives and Policy Standards, and in a few European countries. This paper uses the case of Norway to argue that there is a divergence between the citizenship statuses increasingly afforded to transsexual men and women, and the exclusion from citizenship rights that people with non-binary identities face. It addresses the role of the state in perpetuating gender binaries, in key areas such as identity recognition, medical treatment, and reproductive rights. The paper then utilizes notions of rights in developing models of transgender citizenship that are inclusive of gender pluralism. It also demonstrates the ways in which Norwegian social policy is changing towards a more gender-pluralist position, in response to activist lobbying