Davina Cooper

Davina Cooper, research professor in law and political theory at King’s College London, discusses legal gender, decertification and gender politics. She traces the Future of Legal Gender Project, surveys public polarisation, and maps where legal sex still matters. She considers arguments for abolishing legal gender status, practical risks for institutions like prisons and sport, and how reform fits into wider social justice.

Davina Cooper, a research professor in law and political theory, dives into the complexities of legal gender status. She questions what it really means to have gender recognized on official documents, highlighting the lack of legal acknowledgement for other identities like sexuality and ethnicity. Cooper discusses the polarization around gender identity in the UK and critiques the rigidity of current legal definitions. She advocates for decertifying legal gender status, proposing a transformative approach to achieve social justice and support vulnerable communities.