Originally published in Center for a Stateless Society
People who do not identify with a gender status consistent with conventional fixed, binary gender stereotypes remain the target of a complex array of typically intertwining state policies and civil societal norms which greatly inhibit their liberties.
Transgender and other gender-diverse people are, for example, routinely subjected to discriminatory identity documentation and service access policies. In addition, they often confront episodes of abuse, ridicule, and violence by cisgender people seeking to enforce prevailing gender identity standards. The consequences of such practices are, in turn, reflected in a large amount of evidence pointing to a lack of economic and social participation on several fronts.
Several key issues affecting people within diverse gender communities are considered through a libertarian perspective, with its emphasis on the primacy of the individual and endorsement of mutually assenting and voluntary actions.
