Transgender woman reveals difficulties

[Natasha]

Transgender woman reveals difficulties

http://www.bangordailynews.com/detail/107245.html
Abigail Curtis
5/30/09

LEWISTON, Maine — Brianna Freeman, a transgender woman who lived the first four decades of her life as a man, said she knows firsthand about the pain caused by discrimination.

And when management at an Auburn Denny's restaurant wouldn't allow her to use the women's restroom until she had sex reassignment surgery, she felt compelled to file a complaint with the Maine Human Rights Commission.

[Nero]

Maine driver's licenses now have identification categories of male and female, but why not add a third category — T for transgender, Freeman suggested. That way restaurants wouldn't have to wonder whether, for example, a biological man who wants to use the women's restroom has licit or illicit purposes in mind.

And this is the transperson's idea!

[mickie88]

and it's a STUPID idea!!!

man: miss, what does the T stand for on your license?

lady: it stands for transgender

man: o really? starts stomping a mudhole in them

i will never want a damned T on my license, i don't identify as a damned T, I'm an F.surgery or not. period.

[Feever]

and it's a STUPID idea!!!

OMG!

Might as well wear a sign, or just get it tatooed on our foreheads. 

[myles]

T
Bad, Bad idea!
Myles

[DarkLady]

No third sex markers, please. 

[Natasha]

to be fair, i'd leave the T for those who identify as 'trans-anything'.

[tekla]

To be real, they are going to be encoded with biometric information anyway, and part of that is going to be your DNA. 

[DarkLady]

The story goes better:
After my legal sex change they tried to give me a ID-card with M. The officer had to thought a little before she changed it to F. 

As matter of the fact many IS women have also y-chromosome so the DNA-does not tell necesserily tell that you have been a male. 

[Mister]

And this is the transperson's idea!

I love it when people try to push their politics on other people.  I will add this to my list of why I am grateful to not be living in maine.

[Alyssa M.]

To be real, they are going to be encoded with biometric information anyway, and part of that is going to be your DNA.

I seriously doubt this. At least not in America. There are still enough backwoods gun-toting bluegrass-loving hippies and rednecks who will be damned if they have to get an ID with anything more than a photo and descriptive information. Freedom of speech and freedom to live off-grid are the two deepest American ideals, ones that continue to confound many foreigners, and ones that I don't believe are going to change.

Biometric means phenotype, not genotype, and that's information that is in a photo, just low-res. Also, remember that XY does not imply male, in general. It's higly but not perfectly correlated.

If we all have to get tattoos, I suggest a large outline of a capital 'T' with the crossbar around the mouth and the stem going down to the throat, like the old Camel cigarette ads. Um ... seriously, I'll be damned if I get a 'T' on my license. No bloody way, not in this society.

[Hypatia]

Those "third gender" ID cards have already been implemented in Nepal.

They better not try to pull that over here. I will never accept being relegated to a "third gender." Give me F or give me death!

[Shana A]

I don't see the need for gender markers on official documents at all. Why does my gender matter to anyone else regarding my ability to drive a car, board an airplane, attend school, join a gym (this is theoretical, Z doesn't workout) or eat in a damn Denny's! 

Z

[Michelle.]

I don't see the need for gender markers on official documents at all. Why does my gender matter to anyone else regarding my ability to drive a car, board an airplane, attend school, join a gym (this is theoretical, Z doesn't workout) or eat in a damn Denny's! 

Z

board an airplane

That should be self-explanatory. If not look at your calendar in about 3 months and 5 days.

[DarkLady]

When you have transtioned and your ID still says male perhaps your main worry is still what now . In case you go to operation I do not know what airport thinks in case you have female anatomy and male ID. You must be quit suspectable so you can forget idea of going to plane.

[Shana A]

board an airplane

That should be self-explanatory. If not look at your calendar in about 3 months and 5 days.

The problems of "flying while trans" have gotten significantly worse since 9/11. Many in our community have documentation that doesn't match their gender expression.

Z

[tekla]

The problems with flying have got much worse for everyone since 9-11.  That and airplane food still sucks.  But at the rate the airlines are bleeding red ink, might not be a big problem for long.

[Natasha]

airplane food still sucks.

air france has great food in first class.  terrific croissants too.

[DarkLady]

I have never flown in first class. 

[Hypatia]

Yeah, privilege, anyone?