This thesis concerns the right to legal recognition in the cases of transsexual and transgender individuals. Through the theoretical background of Queer Theory and the methodological tool of Critical Discourse Analysis, this thesis inspects the discourse on the terms 'sex' and 'gender' during the formation process of the Finnish Transsexual Act in order to reveal regulatory structures and assumptions, that enable and justify intrusive prerequisites on trans individuals' gender recognition. Through the establishment of trans identity as unnatural, and producing an essentialist narrative on 'true transsexual', medical interference becomes justified and the transgender subject becomes excluded, creating problems to both the bodily integrity of transsexuals, and the self-determination of transgender individuals.