ABSTRACT
This chapter explores a cultural heritage in which Christian and common law principles provided the orthodox and exclusive framework for sexual relationships in those jurisdictions: gender and sexuality confined in law to familial roles; the criminalisation of sexual relationships outside that framework and the social exclusion and religious rejection of those involved. It explains contemporary concepts, social constructs and emerging issues as they relate to matters of sexuality and gender and their inter-relationship. The chapter identifies theoretical perspectives and relates them to social movements. It examines the pivotal importance of reproductive rights, the emergence of which strategically altered the law relating to the family, freeing women and sexuality from roles assigned or constrained by law and opening up the possibility of further diversification from the traditional family law model. The process of determining gender identity has traditionally been a matter for medical aetiology, and in many places continues to be so, where the focus is on stereotypical biological characteristics.
