Misguided Policy for Transgender Residents in NYC
http://www.bilerico.com/2011/06/misguided_policy_for_transgender_residents_in_nyc.php6/17/11
Two transgender citizens, Sam Berkely and Joann Prinzivalli, are suing New York City's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Why? Ms. Prinzivalli felt humiliated when she went to the DMV to apply for a new license and a clerk kept calling her "sir" because her legal birth certificate listed her as "male." Mr. Berkely, whose birth certificate says "female," applied for new health insurance and endured a disapproving, shaming gaze from the company's employee.
Why are they suing New York City over these incidents? Because its 40-year old health code requires individuals to have genital surgery before changing their legal gender on their birth certificates. Yet today, many people like Prinzivalli and Berkely transition without undergoing genital surgery, and an absence of legal documentation can create situations that are often embarrassing, discriminatory and possibly even dangerous.
