Gender & Sexuality
in New Zealand
Katie Dukes
Question:
What comes to mind
when you think of New Zealand?
Obligatory Equaldex Chart
Background
& Context
History
- 1200-1300
Arrival of Polynesian settlers
- 1642
Arrival of Dutch explorers
- 1769
Arrival of English colonizers
- 1840
Treaty of Waitangi
- 1907
Dominion
Demography
- European = 70.2%
- Māori = 16.5%
- Asian = 15.1%
- Pacific = 8.1%
- MELAA = 1.2%
Culture
- Official languages are English, Māori, and NZSL
- Radio and television stations dedicated to
Māori programming - Expectation of familiarity with common Māori phrases, protocols,
and customs
Traditions
& Laws
Māori Traditions
- Multiple gender categories prior to European arrival
- “Transgender people play an important role...
as holders and transmitters of ancestral knowledge.” - Homosexuality was accepted in early culture & depicted in art
Colonial Laws
- NZ was first nation in the world to give women the right to vote (1893)
-
MSM criminalized starting in 1840,
but never WSW-
Homosexual Law Reform Bill of 1986
-
Modern Laws
- Bill of Rights Act of 1990
- Human Rights Act of 1993
- Domestic Violence Act of 1995
-
“Michael” v. Registrar-General of Births,
Deaths, and Marriages (2008)
New Zealand Now
Gender Equity
- 38% of MPs in Parliament are women,
as is Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern - Last year the Ministry of Health boosted the funding available for gender-affirming surgeries
- Kiwis may choose M, F, or X (gender diverse) on passports
-
Parents of intersex babies may choose to have a child’s sex registered as “indeterminate” on a birth certificate
- Intersex activists are working to ban the practice of gender assignment surgery at birth
- NZ has developed a new statistical standard for gender identity which should enable them to collect more accurate data about issues such as gender-based violence
Sexuality
