Having SRS but staying legally male

[Sammy]

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[Apples Mk.II]

I may do it too, but for different reasons. I can change my legal gender after two years of HRT (In fact, it's already changed in most services when I updated my name to something gender neutral), but it is not mandatory. I'm pretty much keeping it because it would be a hassle getting all of my documentation changed all over again.

There can be several reasons... Imagine having a same sex marriage in a country where it is not legal. Keeping the male gender marker would piss off those bigots, as it already happened. The biggest problem with not changing it is healthcare. When I get blood tests, etc... All of my levels are still adjusted to male ranges since that happens to be my legal gender,

[Donna Elvira]

Hi Emily,
When I read your post the fondamental question that comes to my mind is how do you want to present to the world, as a male or as a female? It would seem to me that your legal status is a secondary issue and I am pretty sure you can have GRS and not have your legal status changed. As it happens, for many people, doing GRS is a prerequisite for a change in legal status so I guess that takes care of that question.
However, getting back to my question, if your intention is to continue presenting to the world as a male, why would you want to throw in the complexity of having a vagina instead of a penis?  If I ask this question it's because I did GRS precisely to make it that much easier to live and present to the world as a woman which can be quite complicated when you have a penis  so I guess the opposite would also be true (see FTM threads for plenty of confirmation)
I am of course aware that for some people here, suffering from severe genital dysphoria, GRS is pretty well an end in itself but I would still think very, very hard about the value in doing such surgery if the intent is to continue presenting to the world as a male.
Take care!
Donna

[Agent_J]

I honestly debated not bothering with updating my ID after SRS (the only document I had with an altered gender marker was my passport as my state of residence and state of birth both required documentation of SRS to update the respective identity documents.)

My birth certificate still isn't updated because of a tangentially-related matter - Pennsylvania rejects my North Carolina name change order.

[Dread_Faery]

It is your body and you have absolute right to decide what's right for you. I don't see any reason that you couldn't do that, though you may be surprised at changes post GCS.

[kelly_aus]

I have no plans to change the gender on my birth certificate, at least not until Australia has marriage equality and rejoins the community of 1st World nations. On a related note, my passport ID's me with an F.. As does everything else on the strength of that document. I've not had SRS, nor do I plan to. But, even if I did, my birth cert wouldn't be changed..

Hmmm.. Just occurred to me that I might have made my gender legally ambiguous..

[Taka]

changing my legal gender seems like too much hassle. the way things are in my own country for now, i wouldn't be able to change my legal gender without removal of gonads, be it as part of srs or not.

i think i'll always be my daughter's mother no matter what happens. at least at the time of her birth and the first year or two after. would be more practical to just let things stay that way even if i suddenly end up transitioning fully and completely into the opposite sex.

the legal gender is just a legal matter. it's not a required procedure in order to justify going through gcs. presentation should always be what you feel good in, and imo has less relevance than what your brain tells you that your body should feel and look like.

[Bimmer Guy]

So, my question is - would it be feasible to undergo SRS and not document those changes legally? Continuing to present "as myself" (letting people choose whatever they wish) and staying legally male? I would appear as my daughter's father in her birth certificate and other papers, instead of outing us to unspecified number of persons? This country is in general quite close-minded but relatively safe - people like to talk behind backs and ostracise (its in their genes), but acts of violence are relatively rare. Still, social abuse and exclusion can be much more painful, and what I can easily shrug off as an adult, might become a huge issue for growing child.

I don't see why not.  Just because we make changes to our body doesn't mean that we have to publicize those changes and seek a change of legal gender.

I had top surgery and so I could, but have not, changed my gender marker in my state.  I live as female at work (albeit a very masculine one).  I just started taking low dose testosterone, I don't know where that will lead.  My point is, we can change our bodies however we want.  It is also up to us to determine what we want changed with the goverment and what we would like to remain the same.  Just because a person doesn't change their marker to male, doesn't mean he isn't a man, it just means that he has chosen to not change his gender marker for some reason.

[Missy~rmdlm]

That's easy enough where I live, to update a birth certificate gender in MO requires a court order and a name change(yes there is a name change requirement) and SRS. It's a high bar, but at least it's doable in my home state. The other base documents such as SS and passport don't change themselves either, and neither is it considered fraud to ignore updating -the gender marker-.

[Bimmer Guy]

I don't see why not.  Just because we make changes to our body doesn't mean that we have to publicize those changes and seek a change of legal gender.

I had top surgery and so I could, but have not, changed my gender marker in my state.  I live as female at work (albeit a very masculine one).  I just started taking low dose testosterone, I don't know where that will lead.  My point is, we can change our bodies however we want.  It is also up to us to determine what we want changed with the goverment and what we would like to remain the same.  Just because a person doesn't change their marker to male, doesn't mean he isn't a man, it just means that he has chosen to not change his gender marker for some reason.

I realized I rambled off instead of actually being direct with the answer.

I don't think there are any states in the U.S. that require one change their gender marker after having any type of SRS surgery.  I would suspect with your country being even more loose with gender protocols you wouldn't be required to change your gender marker to female.

[peky]

OK, a short  background intro to set the scene. I am trying to figure out a sort of roadmap for further steps which would take into account both my needs and wants, and those close to me. In particular, responsibilities and obligations towards my kiddo. In three years she will start attending school be exposed to much more social scrutiny than before (and her parents as well).
I live in the country where we do not have a legal protocol for gender change, which includes an absence of any regulations concerning changes of name/gender markers/legal genders pre/post-SRS. Well, we have a provision that allows one to change his/her gender providing it has been changed but nobody has a clue what it means. Besides, this provision confers a right - it does not impose an obligation. It is possible to undergo SRS here and I only need diagnosis of F64.0, which can be obtained quite easily - next May I will have "transsexual identity being present persistently for at least two years" and providing I have no mental issues (which I hope, I dont but if I was suddenly diagnosed as schizo - that would actually be quite helpful, lol), so obtaining that conclusion should not be hard.
Now, I am approaching my forties, so I dont really have high expections about extra effects from HRT and with little effort I can pass as a dude (albeit quite younger one). I also cannot really imagine a social situation where I would have to present my genitalia.
So, my question is - would it be feasible to undergo SRS and not document those changes legally? Continuing to present "as myself" (letting people choose whatever they wish) and staying legally male? I would appear as my daughter's father in her birth certificate and other papers, instead of outing us to unspecified number of persons? This country is in general quite close-minded but relatively safe - people like to talk behind backs and ostracise (its in their genes), but acts of violence are relatively rare. Still, social abuse and exclusion can be much more painful, and what I can easily shrug off as an adult, might become a huge issue for growing child.

I know everybody has his/her own story according to where they live , and what the make for a living.... Consider my story...

my ex left me long before any transition... with 5 kids (early teens to preteens).... after the divorce my kids (I got full custody) the kids, yes the kids, encourage me to go full time and transition.... yes, they did have to wether the neighborhood and school gossip but you what? after a year or so it wore out ... and now nobody in their school, neighborhood, and/or city bats an eyelash...


courage