Norrie reportedly jumped up and down with joy on hearing the news that the High Court had recognised that “not all human beings can be classified by sex as either male or female”.

The celebrations followed a long running case that began when the NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages reversed an earlier decision to allow a person to record “sex not specified” on their official records.

For four months prior to the about face, Norrie had been recognised as a “sex” outside of the traditional binary of male or female. Miraculously, the sky didn’t fall during that time.

Speaking of the significance of the decision Norrie told reporters: “It’s a very exciting victory. I’m overjoyed that it’s happened and happened so decisively. It’s been a long time from start to finish but it’s a great outcome, and it’s Australia-wide, not just NSW.”

The national ramifications of the decision are important. The court confirmed that under Australian law the “sex” of an individual is largely irrelevant. It could in fact find only one piece of legislation in which a person’s “sex” is legally significant – the Marriage Act.

This is the Act that marriage equality activists have been campaigning to change since 2004. “Today is a huge victory”, said Cat Rose, Community Action Against Homophobia co-convener. “Congrats to Norrie for a hard-won win recognising diversity. But if the courts can recognise that human bodies do not always fit into a neat sex binary, how can our Marriage Act only recognise relationships between a man and a woman? Tony Abbott should have to answer us that.”

Legal recognition is a step forward for all those who imagine a world beyond the gender binary. But there is still a long way to go breaking down the many informal as well as formal structures and practices which impose rigid sex and gender roles on our bodies and lives. This will require an ongoing fight.

For Norrie, the battle against those who are desperate to protect the status quo has been running for more than 20 years. One thing is certain: the fight for full equality and recognition will continue.