Hybrid paragraph

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As a hybrid , even hermaphrodites, hermaphrodite or intersex in is biology a living being referred to the genetic, anatomic or hormonal neither clearly the female is to be assigned nor the male sex. The colloquial term “ hermaphrodite ” goes back in particular to regulations in the Prussian General Land Law , which referred to people without clear gender characteristics as hermaphrodites and wanted to assign them a “legal gender”.

In humans, biological sex is regularly associated with certain rights and obligations. The right to vote for women did not gain acceptance until the 20th century. Until their suspension in July 2012, conscription was only for men. A marriage was possible in Germany to 2017 different only between persons sex, the creation of a registered partnership only homosexual persons (§ 1 Civil Partnership Act ).

The legal civil status in Germany also includes the name that a person has. In the birth register kept by the registry offices, the first name and maiden name of a child as well as its gender are therefore conclusively entered ( Section 21, Paragraph 1 , Section 54, Paragraph 1 of the Civil Status Act (PStG) ).

Legal history

The Prussian General Land Law of 1794 also mentioned people without a clear gender assignment. There it said in the “First Part. First title. Of people and their rights in general: "

"§ 19. When hermaphrodites are born, the parents decide what sex they should be raised to.
§ 20. However, after the eighteenth year, such a person is free to choose which gender he or she wants to be.
§ 21. After this election, his rights will be assessed in the future.
§ 22. If, however, the rights of a third party depend on the sex of an alleged hermaphrodite, the former can apply for an examination by an expert.
§ 23. The findings of the experts decide, also against the choice of the hermaphrodite and his parents. "

“An important act” in this context was one's own choice, which was “peculiar to the LR [Prussian General Land Law]”. However, it was disputed whether the choice, once made, should be immutable. This was supported by the wording of § 21 and also the legislative will, according to which the rights of the person concerned should be “judged for all future according to the choice made in accordance with § 20”. Other authors denied this. According to contemporary medical opinion, “according to theory and experience there was no true hybrid formation”.

The choice made could not yet be effectively documented in a civil status register, although the legal status as a man or woman depended on it, with far-reaching consequences for legal transactions. "If a person who is deformed in his genitals has worn man's clothing to this day and issues a promissory note with other men at the same time, but tomorrow puts on women’s clothes and declares himself a woman, must this choice affect the bond she signed as a man?"

A tradeoff had to be made between the protection of legal intercourse and the right of the “hermaphrodite” to self-determination. When in doubt, a medical expert decided.

With the entry into force of the Civil Code on January 1, 1900, the regulations of the Prussian General Land Law became obsolete. As early as the introduction of the state register on January 1, 1876 by the law on the certification of civil status and marriage of February 6, 1875 , the sex of the child had to be entered in the birth register. The announcement regarding regulations for the implementation of the law on the certification of civil status and marriage of March 25, 1899 introduced a corresponding form.

As of November 1, 2013, this regulation was revised. Since then, Section 22 (3) of the PStG has stipulated that the civil status case must be entered in the birth register without specifying a gender if the child cannot be assigned to either the male or female gender. The children in question no longer need to undergo an operation in infancy to establish a clear gender assignment - as was customary from the 1960s onwards. In the further course of their lives, this often led to severe physical and mental impairments.

With the increasing legal equality between women and men ( equal rights ), the practical need to differentiate between the biological sexes also disappears. The gender debate also questions traditional gender roles.

literature

  • Konstanze Plett: Intersexuals - caught between law and medicine. in: Frauke Koher / Katharina Pühl (eds.), Violence and Gender. Constructions, Positions, Praxen, Opladen 2003, pp. 21–41

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ General Land Law for the Prussian States (June 1, 1794) text version
  2. ↑ Kristine Schwenger: Don't tell anyone else. The story of the hermaphrodites. Deutschlandradio Kultur, contribution from April 29, 2009. Accessed October 23, 2014.
  3. ^ General land law for the Prussian states. Edited with commentary in notes by CF Koch, Berlin 1852, p. 84 . Digitized.
  4. ^ General land law for the Prussian states. Edited with commentary in notes by CF Koch, Berlin 1852, p. 84 . Digitized.
  5. ↑ CCE Hiersemenzel: Supplements and explanations on general land law, with exclusion of constitutional law , Berlin 1854, p. 80 . Digitized.
  6. ^ General land law for the Prussian states. Edited with commentary in notes by CF Koch, Berlin 1852, p. 84 . Digitized.
  7. ^ General land law for the Prussian states. Edited with commentary in notes by CF Koch, Berlin 1852, p. 84 . Digitized.
  8. ↑ Law on the amendment of personal status regulations of May 7, 2013 (Federal Law Gazette I, p. 1122) ( Memento of August 19, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
  9. ↑ Christiane Meister: boy, girl or neither. Die Zeit, November 1, 2013. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
  10. ^ German Ethics Council: Intersexuality . Comment of February 23, 2012 ( memo of March 18, 2016 in the Internet Archive ). Retrieved October 23, 2014.