I live in Australia and I just found out about some laws regarding the LGBT community. I'm not sure if they still exist now but the articles I read were written in 2015 so I'm assuming the laws are still in place. The two laws that concern me the most are: I will have to undergo SRS to have my legal sex changed on identity documents and government records (I'm not sure what "identity documents and government records" means though) and religious organisations can legally discriminate against me and the rest of LGBT community. What does SRS actually mean? I know it stands for sex reassignment surgery but does that mean I have to get top and bottom surgery + be on T or does it mean something else like just one surgery? I don't how much surgery I want to get, honestly. I'm also not too keen on getting bottom surgery. Does this mean I'll be called female for the rest of my life? I wanted to start a GSA at my school but it's a Christian school. Does that count as a religious organisation or is a religious organisation a place of worship like a church? Does this mean that if people bully me then I can't really do anything about it? Sorry for all the questions but this really ruined my plans for the future because I thought things worked here like they work in the US :help:
I think the best thing you can do right now is hold on. Laws are destined to change eventually. Somebody should correct me if I'm wrong, but in the United States (and possibly Canada), religious organizations are not allowed to discriminate against LGBT+, unless they request exemption. Hopefully Australia will follow in those footsteps. I would think a religious school would count as a religious organization. You should ask your school staff about the GSA and whether or not you would be allowed to start it. If not, then just hold on and wait it out. Or just try and get out of the religious school as a whole. When it comes down to getting a legal gender change on your I.D., in some areas in Canada and the U.S, it isn't required to get SRS for that. I think when Australia means SRS, they are referring to bottom surgery, like a hysto for people AFAB. So that could possibly cause some problems for you if you don't want bottom surgery. My solution to you? Just wait it out until Australia passes new laws that allow better lives for LGBT+. Or just run for the hills (aka US/Canada).
I think WhereWeWere put it best. Unfortunately there may not be a lot you can do right now except encourage lawmakers to address these issues and raise awareness of what you're going through. Personally, I would be careful with religious schools. Some may let you start a GSA. But when possible, I'd go for more secular stuff. I know your faith is probably very important but your safety and happiness is important too. SRS is basically defined as sex reassignment surgery. And the definitions of SRS can actually vary based on where you're at. I know in many cases in the US, top surgery counts as SRS since it's removing a "gendered" part of the body. Hystorectomies should count too and if you plan on going on T, those tend to be recommended anyway just to avoid cyst development. It's more broad than you think. You can even opt to remove your ovaries, which isn't a full hystorectomy, and that should count since you'll no longer naturally be producing estrogen. But I would ask someone based in Australia.
Legal Transition Transition Overview Genital Reconstructive Surgery (GRS) "The majority of men who complete their transition to the point of legal recognition of male sex, never undergo genital reconstructive surgery (GRS)"
