Gender as a Spectrum in the Binary – or Ternary – World

A Revisit to the 1629 Hall Case

Abstract

The separation of sex and gender poses an inherent conflict between the necessity for legislation to not diminish biological sex differences, and the freedom of an individual to self-identify as wherever in the gen-der spectrum. Gender «X» is a trending compromise of this conflict. This paper revisits an old case in colonial America to illustrate the significances and limits of adding «X» as a third gender option.