Martine Delaney

Last updated

Martine Delaney (born 15 October 1957[ citation needed ]) is an Australian trans rights activist and former soccer player who became the first transgender woman to be inducted into the Tasmanian Honour Roll of Women in 2021. She first rose to prominence in 2005 when she received national press attention after joining a female soccer team following her transition.

Contents

Sports career

Prior to her transition, Delaney played in men's soccer teams in Tasmania for twenty-five years. [1] [2] In 2005, after her transition, she joined Clarence United, a women's soccer team, becoming the first Australian to play in both men and women's soccer teams. [1] [3] A decision made later that year by Soccer Tasmania to permit Delaney to continue to play for the team was subsequently upheld by Football Federation Australia (now Football Australia), the national governing body for the sport. [2] Delaney went on to advise Football Australia and the Australian Football League on the development of trans-inclusive policies. [4] [5]

Since retiring from sport, Delaney has continued to advocate for the rights of trans athletes in sport. In 2022, she criticised the global swimming federation FINA for issuing a blanket ban on the participation of trans women in elite swimming competitions, calling their actions an "inherently discriminatory response". [5] Delaney has long been critical of complaints that trans female athletes have enhanced muscle mass compared to their biological female counterparts, citing the impact of regular oestrogen use as negating such advantages. [2] [5]

Activism

In 2003, Delaney joined the Equal Rights Network (ERN) and subsequently became an active member of the Tasmanian Gay and Lesbian Rights Group (now known as Equality Tasmania). [6] [4] She has also served as a board member of Working It Out. [6] Delaney is also a member of Tasmania Police's LGBT reference group. [7] [6]

Since 2004, Delaney has called on Tasmanian politicians to change the state's legal recognition of gender, and in 2017 co-founded Transforming Tasmania which advocates for trans right on a state level. [6] [8] [9] In 2018, she called on the Tasmanian government to end mandatory divorce in cases when one spouse legally changed their gender. [8]

In 2019, the Tasmanian government passed legislation that made the inclusion of gender on birth certificates optional, alongside permitting people over the age of 16 the right to change their registered gender without the requirement of first undergoing gender affirmation surgery. [7] [10]

On a national level in 2006, Delaney began lobbying the Australian government to reform gender markers on Australian passports. In 2011, she worked with the Department of Foreign Affairs to review passport regulations, which led to trans people having their chosen gender represented on their travel documents. [11] [12] Delaney also advocated for marriage equality, and was a founding member of both the Australian Coalition for Equality and Australian Marriage Equality. [6] [4] Same-sex marriage was ultimately legalised in Australia in 2017. [13]

Politics

In 2015, Delaney announced her intention to become Australia's first transgender federal politician as a candidate for the Division of Franklin within the House of Representatives; she was endorsed by the Greens. [14] Delaney ultimately placed third, with 9,293 votes (13.35% of the total vote), losing out to the Labor incumbent Julie Collins; this represented a 1.17% increase in the Green vote share. [15]

In 2024, she announced her candidacy for the 2024 Tasmanian state election as an independent candidate, but registered as a candidate for the Local Network party.[ citation needed ]

Writing

Delaney co-wrote two episodes for the second season of the children's drama series First Day . The show, which follows a 12-year-old trans girl navigating her first year of high school, has won an International Emmy Award and the Rose d'Or. [16] [17]

As a journalist, Delaney has written for The Guardian and The Mercury . [18] [19]

Recognition

In 2013, Delaney was recognised as a "human book" by the Hobart Human Library. Entitled Sex Change Soccer Star Cyber Tranny Granny, it recognised her "courage and resilience" and her role in raising the visibility of trans people in Tasmania. [1]

In 2021, Delaney was inducted into the Tasmanian Honour Roll of Women for services to "human rights; justice and corrections; community advocacy and inclusion; and sport and recreation". She was the first trans woman to be an inductee. [7] [4]

Personal life

Delaney transitioned in 2003. As of 2013, she lives with her partner and daughter in Tasmania. [1]

Related Research Articles

The legal status of transgender people varies greatly around the world. Some countries have enacted laws protecting the rights of transgender individuals, but others have criminalized their gender identity or expression. In many cases, transgender individuals face discrimination in employment, housing, healthcare, and other areas of life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stonewall (charity)</span> UK-based charity and advocacy group for LGBT rights

Stonewall Equality Limited, trading as Stonewall, is a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBTQ) rights charity in the United Kingdom. It is the largest LGBT rights organisation in Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trans man</span> Man assigned female at birth

A trans man is a man who was assigned female at birth. Trans men have a male gender identity, and many trans men undergo medical and social transition to alter their appearance in a way that aligns with their gender identity or alleviates gender dysphoria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transgender rights in Canada</span> Rights of transgender individuals in Canada

Transgender rights in Canada, including procedures for changing legal gender and protections from discrimination, vary among provinces and territories, due to Canada's nature as a federal state. According to the 2021 Canadian census, 59,460 Canadians identify as transgender. Canada was ranked third in Asher & Lyric's Global Trans Rights Index in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transgender</span> Gender identity other than sex assigned at birth

A transgender person is someone whose gender identity differs from that typically associated with the sex they were assigned at birth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transsexual</span> People experiencing a gender identity inconsistent with their assigned sex

A transsexual person is someone who experiences a gender identity that is inconsistent with their assigned sex, and desires to permanently transition to the sex or gender with which they identify, usually seeking medical assistance to help them align their body with their identified sex or gender.

In the United States, the rights of transgender people vary considerably by jurisdiction. In recent decades, there has been an expansion of federal, state, and local laws and rulings to protect transgender Americans; however, many rights remain unprotected, and some rights are being eroded. Since 2020, there has been a national movement by conservative/right-wing politicians and organizations to target transgender rights. There has been a steady increase in the number of anti-transgender bills introduced each year, especially in Republican-led states.

Discrimination against non-binary people, people who do not identify exclusively as male or female, may occur in social, legal, or medical contexts.

Feminist views on transgender topics vary widely.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBTQ rights in Tasmania</span>

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in Australian state of Tasmania have the same legal rights as non-LGBTQ people. Tasmania has a transformative history with respect to the rights of LGBTQ people. Initially dubbed "Bigots' Island" by international media due to intense social and political hostility to LGBTQ rights up until the late 1990s, the state has subsequently been recognised for LGBTQ law reforms that have been described by activists such as Rodney Croome as among the most extensive and noteworthy in the world. Tasmania's criminal penalties for homosexual activity were the harshest in the Western world when they were repealed in 1997. It was the last Australian jurisdiction to decriminalise homosexuality after a United Nations Human Rights Committee ruling, the passage of federal sexual privacy legislation and a High Court challenge to the state's anti-homosexuality laws. Following decriminalisation, social and political attitudes in the state rapidly shifted in favour of LGBTQ rights ahead of national trends with strong anti-LGBTQ discrimination laws passed in 1999, and the first state relationship registration scheme to include same-sex couples introduced in 2003. In 2019, Tasmania passed and implemented the world's most progressive gender-optional birth certificate laws. In July 2023, the Tasmanian government officially included and also added "asexual or asexuality".

The participation of transgender people in competitive sports, a traditionally sex-segregated institution, is a controversial issue, particularly the inclusion of transgender women and girls in women's sports.

Transgender rights in Australia have legal protection under federal and state/territory laws, but the requirements for gender recognition vary depending on the jurisdiction. For example, birth certificates, recognised details certificates, and driver licences are regulated by the states and territories, while Medicare and passports are matters for the Commonwealth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Legal recognition of non-binary gender</span>

Multiple countries legally recognize non-binary or third gender classifications. These classifications are typically based on a person's gender identity. In some countries, such classifications may only be available to intersex people, born with sex characteristics that "do not fit the typical definitions for male or female bodies."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transgender rights in the United Kingdom</span>

Transgender rights in the United Kingdom have varied significantly over time.

The legal and regulatory history of transgender and transsexual people in the United States begins in the 1960s. Such legislation covers federal, state, municipal, and local levels, as well as military justice. It reflects broader societal attitudes which have shifted significantly over time and have impacted legislative and judicial outcomes.

Eloise Rafia "Ella" Haddad is an Australian politician. She was first elected to the Tasmanian House of Assembly for the Labor Party in the Division of Denison at the 2018 state election.

Claire Chandler is an Australian politician who was elected as a Senator for Tasmania at the 2019 Australian federal election. She is a member of the Liberal Party.

The following is a timeline of transgender history. Transgender history dates back to the first recorded instances of transgender individuals in ancient civilizations. However, the word transgenderism did not exist until 1965 when coined by psychiatrist John F. Oliven of Columbia University in his 1965 reference work Sexual Hygiene and Pathology; the timeline includes events and personalities that may be viewed as transgender in the broadest sense, including third gender and other gender-variant behavior, including ancient or modern precursors from the historical record.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gender self-identification</span> Legal concept

Gender self-identification or gender self-determination is the concept that a person's legal sex or gender is determined by their gender identity without any medical requirements, such as via statutory declaration.

Lilit Martirosyan is an Armenian LGBTQ+ rights activist known for her 2019 speech to the Armenian Parliament and for founding the Right Side NGO, an Armenian transgender rights group.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Raabus, Carol; Spargo, Jo (25 October 2013). "Meet Tasmania's sex change soccer star cyber tranny granny". ABC Local. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 "Sex change decision sets precedent". The Sydney Morning Herald. 24 June 2005. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  3. ↑ Thranesen, Tina. "Martine Delaney". Vidensbanken om kønsidentitet (in Danish). Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Roychowdhury, Swagatalakshmi (19 March 2021). "Trans Activist Martine Delaney Inducted Into Tasmanian Honour Roll Of Women". Star Observer. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 "'Trans Swim Ban Not the Answer'". Tasmanian Times. 20 June 2022. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 "Martine Delaney Added to Tasmanian Women's Honour Roll". Tasmanian Times. 12 March 2021. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  7. 1 2 3 "'We've come a hell of a long way': Transgender woman humbled by recognition for community service". ABC News. 13 March 2021. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  8. 1 2 Inglis, Rob (28 June 2018). "Tasmania looks at an end to forced divorce law". The Islander. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  9. ↑ "Tasmania could become first state to remove gender from birth certificates". SBS News. 24 October 2018. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  10. ↑ Chudy, Emily (27 July 2022). "Miriam Margolyes shares first-ever Pride march, proving it's never too late". Pink News. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  11. ↑ "Transsexual Aussies like new passport changes". The Courier Mail. 16 September 2011. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  12. ↑ "Sex change on passports for transsexuals". Stuff. 15 September 2011. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  13. ↑ "Marriage Equality Campaign Timeline and Reflections". The Commons. 12 August 2021. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  14. ↑ "Martine Delaney launches bid to be first Australian transgender federal politician". The Guardian. 6 July 2015. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  15. ↑ "Franklin, TAS". Australian Electoral Commission. 20 July 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  16. ↑ Delaney, Martine (14 June 2022). "Authentic Storytelling – Martine Delaney: walking the talk". Screen Australia. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  17. ↑ Keast, Jackie (4 April 2022). "For Julie Kalceff, the second season of 'First Day' takes the story to new level". If. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  18. ↑ Delaney, Martine (8 April 2019). "How Tasmania is going from worst to best on transgender human rights". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  19. ↑ Delaney, Martine (1 October 2015). "Talking Point: Booklet makes me feel my family is inferior". The Mercury. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.