Although international proclamations increasingly recognize legal sex beyond binary categories, domestic legislation is lagging behind. Germany and the Netherlands are the first countries in Western Europe where courts have ruled in favour of a third option. While the German constitution was amended to guarantee a third option, the Dutch government has refrained from implementing comparable legislation. What explains this difference? This article draws on parliamentary debates, newspapers and statements from activists to follow the trajectory of the third option. Building on literature on intersex rights legislation and the diffusion of LGBT rights norms, we find that an established progressive reputation can lead states like the Netherlands to take a back seat, while mobilization by activists was crucial in establishing the self-determination of legal sex on the German political agenda. Our study contributes to unravelling the complex ways in which new norms shape – or fail to shape – domestic political outcomes.

中文翻译：

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走向分类可见性？德国和荷兰的第三性行为的政治形成

尽管国际公告越来越多地承认超越二元类别的合法性别，但国内立法却滞后了。德国和荷兰是西欧第一批法院裁定支持第三种选择的国家。虽然修改了德国宪法以保证第三种选择，但荷兰政府并未实施类似的立法。什么解释了这种差异？本文借鉴了议会辩论、报纸和活动家的声明，以遵循第三种选择的轨迹。基于双性人权利立法和 LGBT 权利规范传播的文献，我们发现既定的进步声誉可以导致像荷兰这样的国家退居次席，而活动家的动员对于在德国政治议程上确立合法性别的自决权至关重要。我们的研究有助于揭示新规范塑造或未能塑造国内政治结果的复杂方式。