Why is the #Bostock SCOTUS decision is important from a #DisabilityRights point of view? A Thread

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Before Bostock, the status of trans persons under anti-discrimination law, Title VII in particular, was dependent on state laws and case law. What did trans plaintiffs in states where they had no protection do? Turn to the ADA.

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Trans plaintiffs tried to fit themselves under the ADA's definition of disability by medicalizing their identity. They argued that their impairment was gender dysphoria, which is recognized in the DSM-5. Some of them were successful.

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The most famous case is Blatt v. Cabela’s Retail, by the federal district court in the eastern district of Pennsylvania. While some saw it as a landmark victory for trans rights, it can be problematic when considering disability and intersectionality.

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According to the case, in order to gain ADA protection, trans persons need to obtain a diagnosis of gender dysphoria disorder. Thus, they need access to a doctor who can provide that formal medical diagnosis.

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The Blatt decision is problematic as it reinforces an outdated medical model. But it can also be criticized from a health justice standpoint: what abt uninsured trans ppl or those with no time, desire, or money to get diagnosed; are they not also entitled to protection?

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And even if the answer is “yes” in the normative sense, is it rational to have to separate medically diagnosed trans persons from non-medically diagnosed trans persons in terms of their legal treatment?

But wait, this decision also had an effect on disability rights.

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The whole history of American disability rights is based on judicial and political backlash (both against Section 504 to the Rehab Act and the ADA). The backlash stems from a panic abt opening up the floodgates and having “too many people claiming disability rights.”

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The Blatt decision worried disability rights advocates due to a potential backlash. This is specifically true since the ADA legislative history from the late 1980s intentionally excluded trans persons.

#Bostock is important as it made this whole discussion irrelevant!

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Now that trans persons finally got the protection they deserve in #Bostock, they do not need to medicalize their identity anymore and try to fit themselves under the ADA. Disability rights dodged that bullet. Good news to all of us!

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In other good news for the trans ppl. In May 2019, gender dysphoria was removed from the chapter on mental disorder in the International Classification of Disease (ICD) that is published by the World Health Organization and used for diagnosis together with the DSM-5.

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This move, which was supported by trans rights organizations, de-medicalizes trans identities, and there is a big chance the DSM-5 will follow the ICD.

End.

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