The self-perceived gender identity

Abstract

In 2012 Argentina became the first country to apply the Yogyakarta Principles concerning the legal recognition of gender identity. This essay will analyze public demonstrations in support of gender identity recognition from a socio-historical point of view, taking into account semantic moves in these public claims and the progressive constitution of a social movement. I then focus on the previous regulatory framework, as well as on tactics and debates around some bills which fed into the gender identity recognition legislation after several disputes. In other words, this juridico-political dispute can be read as the renegotiation for decisional autonomy more generally vis-à-vis the State. Lastly, I will consider the significance and scope of the Gender Identity Law for transgender people and how it is related to the epistemic crisis and legal inconsistency that the law itself launched. I argue disputes over the recognition of gender identity can be situated in a broader context of historical transformations and mutation of the ways of understanding gender and sexuality.