Austria is heading for a heated debate this week as the right-wing Freedom Party (FPÖ) pushes a motion to declare in the constitution that only two genders exist.
The FPÖ argues that the measure is necessary to “return to biological reality.” However, left-wing parties have accused the FPÖ of fuelling “societal polarization,” signalling tense debates ahead.
Austria is not alone in having this debate. Several other European countries have already taken steps to legally reaffirm the existence of only two sexes.
Slovakia recently approved a landmark constitutional amendment that recognises only two genders: male and female.
The amendment defines sex as the one recorded at birth and also limits adoption to married couples, bans surrogacy, and states that every child has the right to know their biological parents.
Conservative reforms in Hungary, Bulgaria, and Georgia have pursued similar aims, focusing on protecting children and families from aggressive gender and LGBT ideologies.
Hungary’s child protection law—which bans the promotion of gender transition and homosexuality in primary schools and prime time TV—is currently the subject to legal proceedings at the European Court of Justice.
