Should the Liberal State Recognise Gender?

Abstract

Abstract This chapter considers the arguments that Clare Chambers has made against the state recognition of marriage and applies them to the case of gender. The chapter argues that a political liberal state cannot recognise gender since doing so would require it to define gender and enforce that definition, something that cannot be done without running counter to reasonable conceptions of the good. It follows that alternative methods to rectify the injustice of the gender binary must be sought. The chapter considers the difference between state recognition of gender and state recognition of sex, and argues for context-dependent solutions.