In talking about the various labels individuals identify with vis-à-vis sexual orientation and gender identity, Agius insisted that both of these characteristics are innate and that there is no tool for their verification other than self-identification.
Identity politics is not something he wished would inform society, as he instead wishes for a society that frees itself from label determinism to the point where people would feel comfortable interacting with all sorts of human diversity and backgrounds. “We need to aspire for a society where all are free and equal, and all are included and free to contribute towards the collective good,” he said.
“Why should anyone care about people’s sexuality or gender of all things? Why should we police each other’s innate personality?”, he queried.
He noted that the most important aspect of a person that society should pay attention to is their character and the quality of said person’s work, as well as the contribution that is being made to society by said individuals.
Touching on the content of conversations being had worldwide, particularly with regards to freedom of speech, he noted that it is noteworthy that several individuals and groups who make reference to freedom of speech the most and wave that flag, are quick to dismiss other rights that are equally fundamental. He claimed that this is hypocritical and that such people do not really support human rights at all, but use them as they please. This is because human rights are universal and inalienable, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated. They were developed in their current format in the post-WWII works to protect all individuals regardless of their personal characteristics again different possible breaches to their dignity.
He maintained that some groups often claims their right to freedom of speech in its affront to particular groups in society. Agius pointed out that, however, like most other rights, freedom of speech has its limits such as the obligation to not commit other forms of crime such as ‘hate speech’ or breaches of law such as ‘incitement’ to commit crimes against others.
Malta, joined by the vast majority of Western nations, has legal limitations on ‘hate speech’ and ‘incitement’ with regards to various grounds of discrimination on the basis of race, gender, and other identifiers.
Paradoxically, the LGBT community had also found themselves being censored from sharing their experiences in the open, although this, Agius explained, was a form of marginalisation and oppression that they have since fought against.
He warned against the use of ‘hate speech’ against particular minorities by pointing out how he believed it had given way to the rise of figures such as Adolf Hitler and other dictators.
“In order to stop something similar happening again, we’ve set up international institutions and international law and countries are now obliged to follow international law that they ascribe to.”
He noted the importance of such laws by pointed towards Britain today, where he remarked that because they are thinking of withdrawing from the European Union and even the European Convention on Human Rights, the discourse against foreigners has now led to higher rates of hate crimes in the country than they’ve ever had.
“There have recorded an increase in hate speech, hate crime, and also in the targeting of minorities.”
A child’s right to gender-identity
The changes to Malta’s gender legislation made it the right of every individual to have adequate access to gender-affirmation.
This applies equally to individuals that are intersex and to those that are trans, although there are slight differences in how they are impacted.
With regards to biological sex, Agius notes how the immediate concept when we are born is that we can only be a male or a female.
“This however is not fully correct as sex is more of a spectrum than two boxes.”
He insisted that the current concept of a binary sex is wrong, and this is shown by the fact that there are men who have higher levels of oestrogen than others, and that there are also those men that have higher levels of testosterone than others, and some goes for women.
“If you had to place them on a line, they would not all fall on the same spot.”
Individuals born intersex clearly demonstrate the shortfalls of the sex binary, he explains, as they typically neither fall neatly in the male or the female box.
In order to protect individuals against unnecessary and unconsented surgery, all medical interventions that are not immediately necessary are delayed until the person is capable of making their choices as to whether they want to undergo a particular intervention or not. The law does not specify an age, but requires a free and informed consent.
This because it all depends on the individual child or adult being fully informed and consenting to the treatment, which in the child’s case is provided through the parents or guardian, whose role in reality is limited to channel the information from the child to the medical and psychosocial team.
Agius asserted that parents should not suppress their children’s gender identity or sexual orientation, and pointed out that children too have a right to their own gender identity – a right that belongs to them as individuals with a full set of rights.
“I have had conversations with parents who come to my office to discuss the care plan that they devised for their children, and it is quite moving to see how serious today’s parents are in supporting their children to be happy and express themselves in line with their gender identity.”
Louis the 14th
This expression of gender identity, or gender expression may be in line with social expectations with one’s sex, like than can also not be. As Judith Butler explains clearly through her work, gender is a form of performance of our own understanding of ourselves vis-à-vis maleness and femaleness, Agius said.
“Gender is indeed a social construct, and if you are not sure about this, all you need to do is flip a few historic books and see how it has changed over the course of past centuries. Louis the 14th and others wore clothes that were totally acceptable in their era, but would turn heads today as they are not in line with current gender norms.”
He pointed out that the issue of whether transgender people stand out or not in terms of the rest of society depends on the customs of that particular society, and whether space is provide for their existence or whether society’s customs are narrow and exclusive.
This, he explained, includes things like the length of our hair, a form of expression we use as a means to present ourselves, ability to wear skirts and pants, high heals, make up and so on.
“Some forms may be acceptable for some subcultures but not others in our society. We should now ensure that all are able to be free.”