【翻譯】性別認同立法正在台灣被強力推動——大眾能有發言權嗎？
作者：Jaclynn Joseph
譯者：丁
網址：Gender identity legislation is being pushed through in Taiwan — will the public get a say?
On October 30th, I am presenting on the topic of “Gender and Immateriality” at the 29th Annual Conference of the English and American Literature Association in Taiwan and, funny enough, Taiwan is currently awash with news of sex self-identification. Gender identity ideology has ripped through Western society at full force, bringing out tired old stereotypes and misogyny disguised as progressive thinking, and is now extending across the globe.
10月30號的時候，我將在英美文學協會第29屆年會演講社會性別與非物質性，有趣的是，台灣目前正滿滿都是性別認同的新聞。性別認同意識型態早已全力席捲西方社會，帶來老舊的刻板印象與厭女，偽裝成進步思想，現在正擴散到全世界。
譯註：immateriality是一個哲學上的概念，非物質性/無形性，我搜尋相關主題的時候看到巴特勒的理論，所以本文作者的演講可能是針對巴特勒酷兒理論的批評，巴特勒的理論主要就是個人身分由自我定義。
On September 23, the Taipei High Administrative Court issued a ruling allowing a trans-identified male calling himself “Xiao E (小E)” to change his legal sex to female without sex reassignment surgery — the first of its kind. Until now, individuals could not change their sex on an ID card unless they provided medical certificates confirming a diagnoses of gender dysphoria and proof of a sex change operation.
9月23號，台北高等行政法院判決，允許一名自我認同是跨性別的男性，自稱小E，在沒有性別重置手術的情況下更改他的法律性別為女性，這是史無前例的。到目前為止，個人並不能更改他們的性別與身分證，除非他們提供醫療證明，證實他們確診為性別不安，並證明已接受變性手術。
How did this ideology reach Taiwan — an Asian nation on the edge of the Pacific? It appears certain groups in Taiwan have been working in near secrecy to make this happen.
這種意識型態究竟是如何觸及台灣——這個太平洋邊緣的亞洲國家——的呢？似乎有些特定的團體，一直在台灣秘密地推動。
The last three decades has seen Taiwan join the ranks of the most vibrant democracies in Asia. Since democratization began in the 1990s, democracy and respect for human rights have become an increasingly prominent part of the island’s identity and values. Taiwan became the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage in May 2019. I was there at the marches, rallies, and the Pride Parades leading up to this monumental victory for equality. What marriage equality, the women’s rights movement, and the civil rights movement have in common is that they extended the rights of a privileged group to everyone. When well-meaning people in Taiwan hear “trans rights,” they assume something similar is being demanded. But that isn’t the case. What campaigners mean by “trans rights” is the “right” to identify as the opposite sex — socially, legally, and in every other context.
過去三十年來，台灣已經成為最有活力的亞洲民主國家之一。自從90年代的民主化開始，民主與尊重人權逐漸成為這個島嶼最顯著的身份與價值觀的一部分。台灣在2019年5月成為第一個同婚合法的亞洲國家。我當時就在那裡，一起參加遊行、集會還有同志大遊行，促成這個值得紀念的平權勝利。婚姻平權、女權運動還有民權運動的共同點，就是他們將本屬於少數特權團體的權利延展到每一個人身上。當滿懷善意的人們聽到「跨權」的時候，他們假設跨權爭取的也是類似的權益。但事實並非如此。這些社會運動家說的跨權，指的權利是，被辨認為另一個性別，社會上、法律上以及每一個層面上。
But, this isn’t a human right.
但這並不是人權。
Equal access to housing, healthcare, employment, and safety are basic rights that (should) belong to every person in the world. Ensuring all individuals can live free from harassment, violence, and discrimination is also a worthy goal, and trans-identified people deserve this, like everyone. But it is not a human right to demand to be treated either socially or legally as female, if you are male. Women fought to have access to single-sex spaces, services, and opportunities — allowing males to access female-only spaces like change rooms, shelters, and prisons should not be framed as a human right. It is not a human right to endanger vulnerable women and girls. It is not a human right to require that everyone accept subjective beliefs as objective reality. It is a privilege to demand to be socially and legally treated as the opposite sex — to compel the speech and the actions of others. Demanding everyone subscribe to your faith-based beliefs (or at least say they do) is comparable to state-sanctioned religion.
平等的獲得居住、醫療、就業還有人身安全，是基本權利，屬於世界上每一個人。確保每一個人能自由的生活，免於騷擾、暴力與歧視也是一個非常有意義的目標。自我認同為跨性別的人應得這些權利，就像其他人一樣。但是，如果你是男性，要求被當成女性對待，無論是在社會還是法律層面上，這並不是人權。女人奮鬥以獲得單一性別的空間、服務還有機會。讓男性可以進入純女性空間，例如更衣室、庇護所與監獄，這種事不應該被當成人權。危害脆弱的女人跟女孩並不是一種人權。要求每個人把主觀信念當成客觀事實並不是一種人權。要求自社會與法律層面上被當成異性對待，是一種特權，強迫他人在言行上服從。命令每個人都要支持你們以信仰為基礎的信念(或者至少要說支持)，正如同國家法定信奉特定的宗教一樣。
The acceptance of and legislating around gender identity ideology is happening at a very rapid pace in the country I call home. The following is a timeline of Taiwan’s progression to self-ID*:
對於性別認同意識形態的接納與立法，即為迅速地在我稱為家的這個地方發生。以下是台灣的自我性別認同進步時間線：
譯註：本文作者出生在夏威夷，目前定居台灣
1988 : Two doctors defined the surgical requirements to change one’s legal sex in Taiwan as the removal of reproductive organs and the completion of so-called “sex reassignment surgery” (SRS), including vaginoplasty and phalloplasty.
1988年：兩名醫生訂定變更法律性別的手術條要求，要移除性腺，並完成所謂的性別重置手術，包含人造陰道與人造陰莖
Other criteria for legally changing sex in Taiwan included:
其他標準包含：
●Living as opposite sex for at least two years and adapting well
以異性的身份生活兩年並適應良好
●Having the support of parents and family
有雙親與家人的支持
●Being aged between 20 and 40 years old
年紀介於20到40之間
●Patient intelligence above mid-range, an IQ score of between 85 and 115
病患智力高於中等範圍，智商在85到115之間
●Ruling-out patients seeking to perform surgery due to mental disorders, paraphilic disorders, or excessive mental stress
排除因為心理疾病、性變態還有嚴重心理壓力而尋求手術的病患
For 20 years, this remained the only way to legally change your sex in Taiwan.
長達20年，這在台灣是唯一的、合法改變法律性別的途徑。
November 2008 : As SRS is often expensive and quite risky, human rights organizations and various activists worked with the Department of Health (now called the Ministry of Health and Welfare), to change the 1988 criteria to the following:
2008年11月：因為性別重置手術通常昂貴且危險，人權組織還有許多社會運動家與衛生署（目前稱衛福部）合作，改變了1988年的標準，如下：
“Application of trans-identified individuals requires two certificates of diagnosis from two different licensed Taiwanese psychiatrists, and a certificate of diagnosis from a licensed Taiwanese medical institution stating the removal of breasts, uterus, and ovaries in women, and penis and testes in men.”
申請跨性別的個人需有兩張診斷證明，來自不同的台灣合格精神科醫生，一張合格的台灣醫院診斷證明當事人已移除女人的胸部子宮卵巢，男人的陰莖睪丸。
The difference being that now, no vaginoplasty or phalloplasty was required after the surgery.
差別在於不需要人造陰道與人造陰莖了。
2013年10月：總統府人權諮詢委員會舉辦了一場會議，決定行政院應該協調內政部跟衛生署想出一個更好的更改法律性別的政策。
註：馬政府時期
December 2013 : The Ministry of Health held a conference on sex change registration requirements. The conference agreed on the following conclusion:
2013年12月：衛生署舉辦一場會議探討性別變更註冊要求。會議結論如下：
“The legal change of gender registration should not require ANY medical requirements or prerequisites.
社會性別註冊的法律變更，不應該要求任何醫療條件或前提。
譯註：這裡用了gender跟前文使用的sex不一樣，sex我會翻譯成性別，gender我會翻譯成社會性別
The conclusion also stated that details should be discussed further with affected agencies and ministries. No women’s organizations were mentioned or consulted.
會議結論也提到細節應當跟其他受影響的政府部分再進一步討論。沒有婦女組織被提及或是諮詢。
January 2017 : The Taiwanese Society of Psychiatry published the following statement on their website:
2017年1月：台灣精神醫學會在網站上刊出以下聲明：
“It is not recommended to allow the change of legal gender solely based on Psychiatrists’ Certificates of diagnosis. We recommend that the government should form a special agency dedicated to this specific purpose instead, to ensure and protect the rights of the affected individual.”
我們不建議僅基於精神科診斷證明允許變更法律的社會性別。取而代之的是，我們建議政府應組成專責單位致力於這項特定的目的，為了確保並保護受影響的個人的權利。
註：2017年應為作者誤植，該聲明發表於2014年
September 2021 : Taiwan court rules to allow a male identifying himself as “Xiao E (小E)” to change his legal sex to “female” without surgery.
2021年9月：台灣法院裁定允許一名自稱為小E的男性更改他的法律性別為女性，無須手術。
The Chinese language news outlets that covered this case (UDN News, ET Daily, Apply Daily, LTN Liberty Times) all did so with no comment on how these changes would impact women in Taiwan. Across the board, they printed copy and paste statements from groups representing trans activist interests, and offered no counter opinion or discussion of potential harm to women and girls. The two English language news outlets to discuss the case — Focus Taiwan and Taipei Times — provided the barest of details and also failed to discuss negative impacts on women.
報導此案的中文媒體（聯合報、東森新聞、蘋果日報、自由時報）都沒有任何評論，關於這些改變會如何影響台灣的女人。他們完全複製貼上那些聲明，來自代表跨性別社會運動利益的團體，沒有提供任何平衡意見，或是討論這對女人與女孩的潛在威脅。報導此案的英文媒體，焦點台灣與臺灣時報，僅提供最基本的細節，也沒有討論對女人的負面影響。
According to a Taiwanese source I spoke with who is active in the LGBTQ community, in 2020, the Executive Yuan (Taiwan’s highest administrative branch) funded research on public opinion regarding gender self-ID, which is being led by the gender studies department at a local Taiwanese university. The project is called “Legalization of Gender Change Requirements and Legislative Suggestions,” and aims to assess public and/or LGBTQ community opinions on self-ID requirements to provide the Executive Yuan direction on possible legislative change. The research is being compiled via a series of questions conducted online using a Google form.
根據我的消息來源，一名活躍於LGBTQ社群的台灣人，行政院(台灣最高行政機關)在2020年資助了對大眾意見的研究，主題為自我性別認同，這項研究由一所台灣當地的大學性別研究系所主導。這個計畫叫作「性別變更認定要件的立法與建議」目標是分析大眾與LGBTQ社群的意見，針對自我認同性別的要件，以提供行政院可能的立法變更方向。該研究由一系列的問題構成，使用線上Google表單。
According to an anonymous source I spoke with who works for the government, the research is strongly biased towards requiring only self-declaration of identity. This research is costing the Taiwan government upwards of 1.3 million Taiwan Dollars (roughly $37,000 USD). The survey seems, almost by design, very difficult to find online — a government official who reached out to me had trouble finding the Google form, and, unlike the general public, he actually knew what to search for. Searching online for information on the research being conducted — or the survey itself — only reveals the institutions who bid to conduct the research. The only actual links to the form are found on transgender or LGBTQ related forums. The organizations behind the research do not seem interested in including the general public and are heavily biased, only seeking out participation from a few select groups within the LGBTQ community.
根據我的匿名線報，一名為政府工作的人表示，該研究強烈地偏向僅要求自我宣稱的身份認同，這研究花費台灣政府一百三十萬台幣。該問卷調查，幾乎是故意設計成很難在網路上找到。一名與我聯絡的政府官員就很難找到這個Google表單，而且不像普羅大眾，他非常清楚要搜尋的是什麼。在線上搜尋這個研究的資訊或是調查本身，只會找到得標的機構。表單的真正連結只能在跨性別或是LGBTQ相關的論壇找到。這研究背後的組織，看起來沒有興趣要囊括普羅大眾，只想尋求少數被選中的LGBTQ社群團體參加。
There are many trans people around the world who acknowledge that surgery cannot actually change one’s sex. Not all of those who have had sex-change operations and/or identify as “transsexual” or “trans” push to enter female spaces, or force others to use incorrectly sexed pronouns. Trans is not a monolith, and many with dysphoria are under no illusions about their biological reality. Yet, trans-identified individuals who deviate from the preferred narrative are not being included in the conversation. It appears as though the Executive Branch already knows what they want to include in their bill, which, if passed, will ensure one need only self-declare an inner sense of “gender identity” in order to legally change sex. They are promoting what is called a “legal fiction,” which is created when the law acts as if something is the case, for certain defined legal purposes, when in fact it is not. Humans cannot change sex, but we are being coerced into an immersive fiction by Taiwan’s government into believing they can.
世界上有很多跨性別人士承認手術不能真的改變個人的性別。並不是所有已經動過手術的或自我認同為「變性人」或「跨性別」的人都想強硬進入女性空間，或是強迫別人使用不正確的性別代名詞。跨性別並不是一塊巨石，許多有性別不安的人對於他們的生理事實並沒有錯覺。但是跨性別認同的個體當中，那些偏離（跨權主流）偏好敘事的人並不被接受包容。看起來，行政機關早己知悉，他們想要寫在法案裡通過的是：確保個人只要自我宣稱他的性別認同，就能更改法律性別。他們在推動的是所謂的法律擬制。這個概念被創造來假定某項事實，為了特定的法律目的，儘管事實並非如此。人類無法改變性別，但我們正在被脅迫進入一個沉浸式體驗的（虛構）擬制當中，被台灣政府強迫相信性別可以改變。
譯註：此段提到的性別都是Sex
譯註：monolith巨石：指的是強而有力團結一致的團體
This graph shows the increase in trans-identified men and women over the years in Taiwan. Note the disproportionate increase in trans-identified males. This graph was published by the National Yangming Jiaotong University using information provided by Taipei Veteran General Hospital. (According to the Taiwanese calendar, which counts years starting from the creation of the Republic of China, the numbers 85–102 refer to the years 1996–2013.)
此圖顯示跨性別認同的男人跟女人逐年增加。注意不成比例的跨性認同男性增長。此圖由國立陽明交通大學刊出，使用資訊由台北榮總提供。本圖使用民國紀年，85年對照的是1996年
Even the term, “gender identity,” is a misnomer — in fact, gender identity legislation requires others to identify you as a member of the sex you proclaim.
就算是這個術語「社會性別認同」都是用詞不當。事實上，社會性別認同立法要求的是別人認同你作為你宣稱的性別的一員。
But one cannot “identify” into sex. All of us are born one of two biological sexes, easily observable at birth 99.98 percent of the time. [Exceedingly rare disorders of sexual development (DSDs) are medically identifiable conditions that deviate from the sexual binary norm. They do not constitute a third sex.] Gender, on the other hand, is a subjective and socially constructed concept, not an objective biological entity. The words male and female cannot refer to an immutable biological fact and a social construct or subjective identity, simultaneously. And setting aside the sticky issue of what it would even mean to “feel” male or female, why would such a feeling matter if physically being male or female does not? Why should immaterial feelings of “femaleness” matter in law, trumping the material reality of our physical bodies?
但一個人不能「認同成」什麼性別。我們都是被生為兩種生理性別，在出生的時候99.98的人都很容易被觀察出來。極度少見的性別發展症狀，是醫學上可認知的症狀，偏離二元性別規範。他們不構成第三種性別。相反地，社會性別，是一個主觀並且社會建構的概念，不是一個客觀的生理存在。male跟female這兩字，不可能同時是不可變動的生理事實又是社會建構或主觀認同的。我們暫且擱置一個棘手的議題：到底什麼叫作「感覺是」男性或女性。先問，為什麼這樣的感覺很重要，而肉體上當個男人或女人就不重要？為什麼非物質的感受「當個女人」在法律上很重要，遠勝過物質上的事實——我們的肉體？
Convincing people to accept identities that are subjective and have no basis in material reality is not an easy task, which is probably why this recent ruling was a surprise to many in Taiwan. If you want everyone to accept your gender identity as valid, then the populace must be persuaded that sexed bodies are not material, but that gender identities are. If you think you cannot convince your populace, you try to push through laws without their knowledge or informed consent.
說服人們接受主觀的認同，不能有基於物質事實上的偏見，並不是一件簡單的任務，這可能就是為什麼最近的(換證)判決令很多台灣人震驚。如果你想要每個人都接受你的性別認同生效，那麼民眾必須被說服「身體性別不重要」但是「性別認同很重要」。假如你認為你不能說服你的民眾，你這是在缺乏他們的認知與知情同意下推動法律。
譯註：material在此處與前文採取不同翻譯，前文通常表達具體的、實質上的，此處應作重要的
Material facts about the way women are treated in society — and the protections and spaces we require — must be acknowledged in consideration of this issue. Allowing men to self-identify as women and access women’s spaces and resources causes harm to the original members of the category “woman.”
女人實質上如何在社會上被對待，還有我們需要的保護與空間，在考慮這個議題的時候，這些事實都必須被承認。允許男人自我認同為女人，並且進入女人的空間取得女人的資源，傷害女人這個類別之下的原始成員。
Studies show that most males who identify as transgender retain their genitalia. Changing the law in order to allow these males access to women’s spaces means any man at all can access women’s spaces, essentially making all spaces mixed-sex spaces, to the detriment of females.
研究顯示，大部分自我認同為跨性別的男人都保留他們的陰莖。修法以允許這些男人進入女人的空間，代表任何男人都可以進入女人的空間，基本上讓所有的空間都變成了性別混合空間，造成對女性的傷害。
註：原文的研究內容是基於英國人口的數據調查
Feelings of being born in the “wrong body” are unverifiable, no matter how strongly felt and expressed. They do not constitute scientific evidence of objective material reality. “I think I am a woman, therefore I am a woman” cannot be the basis for the legal definition of a woman. It legally disenfranchises women to remove biological sex from the definition of womanhood, or to have it superseded by gender identity.
「感覺生在錯誤的身體」是無法被驗證的，無論是多麼強烈的感受或是表達。感覺無法構成客觀實質事實的科學證據。「我認為自己是女人，因此我是女人」不能作為法律定義女人的基礎。自女人的定義移除生理性別，或是用社會性別認同來取代它，就是從法律上剝奪女人的權利。
I have always loved people who rejected gender stereotypes: David Bowie, Boy George, Marlene Dietrich, Annie Lennox, Grace Jones, and every member of BTS — women who dared to be what we deem masculine and men who choose not to be. The idea that women should be “feminine” (soft, submissive, subservient) and the idea that men must play sports and guzzle beer, or that they shouldn’t wear makeup or show their emotions, are gender stereotypes. I support rejecting gender. Given that I support gender non-conformity and breaking apart stereotypes, you might think I would be happy about today’s gender ideology. But I am not. That is because rather than reject gender stereotypes, gender identity ideology says we must define ourselves by them. It is a step back, and it has been skillfully sold as progressive.
我一直都很愛那些拒絕社會性別刻板印象的人：David Bowie, Boy George, Marlene Dietrich, Annie Lennox, Grace Jones, and every member of BTS —那些膽敢做我們視為陽剛的事情的女人，與那些選擇不要陽剛的男人。女人應該女性化（柔軟、順從、屈服）的這種觀念，還有男人應該運動或是灌啤酒，或是男人不該化妝或展現感情的這種觀念，都是社會性別刻板印象。我支持的是拒絕社會性別。有鑑於我支持非常規社會性別，還有打破刻板印象，你可能會以為我會為了今日的社會性別意識型態而高興。但我並不高興。這是因為，社會性別認同意識形態並沒有拒絕社會性別的刻板印象，它主張的是我們要用刻板印象來定義我們自己。這完全是退步，它卻一直技巧性地假裝成進步價值。
It is disappointing to see a thriving democracy like Taiwan circumvent discussion on this topic and use sleight of hand to pass a law that will negatively impact its citizens. It is reminiscent of its recent authoritarian past, under the guise of being “inclusive.” It is disappointing to see that women’s organizations, trans people who don’t advocate gender identity ideology, and the general public have been left out of the conversation. The government should be able to provide legal protections for trans people, without eroding the legal status, rights, and existence of women. Language matters, because that is how we describe reality. When we erase the meaning of the word woman, we erase women, the oppression women face, and the rights women have fought for.
我感到很失望，看到台灣這樣一個茁壯的民主國家，卻迴避討論這個主題，而且用詭計花招通過一條給公民帶來負面影響的法律。這情況讓人聯想到台灣剛剛過去的威權統治時期，以「包容」的名義偽裝專制。我感到很失望，看到婦女組織、不認同社會性別認同意識型態跨性別人士還有普羅大眾，都被阻絕於對話之外。政府應該提供法律的保障給跨性別人士，但不能侵蝕女人的法律地位、權利還有存在。語言很重要，因為這是我們描述現實的方式。當我們抹除了女人這個字，我們就抹除了女人，忽視她們面對的壓迫，消滅她們一直以來奮鬥爭取的權利。
The backlash is already being felt. On popular Asian social media platform Plurk, people are talking about what the government is trying to do, angering many. Young, liberal, educated people want to protect the rights of trans people, but do not want to accept self-ID and intact males in female spaces. Taiwanese women around the city have begun a campaign using messaging app, Line (possibly the most popular way to communicate in this country), detailing the case, and urging their friends, family, and members of the community to contact their local legislators to complain about this verdict. They are wondering why they have been strategically left out of the conversation.
對政策的強烈反彈已經開始了。在受歡迎的社群平台plurk上，人們正在討論政府想要做什麼，這激怒了很多人。年輕的，自由主義的，受過教育的人們，想要保護跨性別人士的權利，但不願意接受單靠自我性別認同更改法律性別，也不願意接受一應俱全的男性進入女性空間。都市的台灣女人開始了一場運動，利用通訊軟體Line(可能是這個國家最受歡迎的溝通工具)講述細節，催促他們的親朋好友、社群成員去聯絡當地立委，抗議這則判決。他們想知道，為什麼他們被策略性的排除在對話之外。
October 2021: Anonymous members of the LGBTQ+ community in Taiwan began distributing leaflets explaining the ruling and its implications via social media and messaging apps like Line. Concerned citizens also created an online petition to appeal the ruling on self-ID, on account of wanting to protect women only spaces. Currently, only Taiwanese citizens or permanent residents of Taiwan can sign the petition.
2021年10月：匿名的LGBTQ+社群成員開始發送傳單，解釋這起判決還有它帶來的影響，透過社群媒體還有通訊軟體例如Line。關切的公民們也發起了一個線上的連署請願，申訴這起自我性別認同更改法律性別的判決，目的是為了保護純女性空間。目前只有台灣公民或是永久居留的人可以簽署這個請願。
2022年1月：最近進行的這個研究將會在明年做出結論報告送交，行政院將以該研究結果為基礎撰寫法案。該是行動的時候了。快聯絡你當地的立委，讓你的聲音被聽見！
注意，在中文當中，sex跟gender是沒有區別的。在台灣，「性別登記」還有「法律性別」被使用的時候，它們指的都是生理性別。
台灣在早於1988年以前沒有任何法規可以更改性別。
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