That's not my name! Think changing genders is tricky? Try changing your name

[Shana A]

That's not my name!
Think changing genders is tricky? Try changing your name
By MADDY MYERS  |  June 2, 2010

http://thephoenix.com/Boston/life/103143-thats-not-my-name/

The transition process for transgender people, particularly transsexuals, might involve an expensive combination of surgeries, hormone-replacement therapy, and lesser tasks like perfecting one's vocal tone or handwriting style. But one of the most pervasive proofs of a previous life doesn't involve a physical change at all: it's in the name.

I spoke with Erik, a student in the Greater Boston area, about what he calls "the frustrations encountered in the world when your common name and appearance say one thing, while your legal documents say another."

"My birth name doesn't even feel like me — it's like a separate person," says Erik. "And, really, in all fairness, it is. My birth name represents something, and someone, that I am not and can never be."

[Arch]

Am I the only one who thinks this article is idiotic?

Never mind, I don't care what anyone else thinks. I find this article to be stupid. Maybe I should read it after I've had my coffee.

[LordKAT]

Thanks Arch, I drank coffee first. It is a long article for the easiest part of transitioning. That makes it stupid as the things it does tell you are common sense.

[Jasmine.m]

The article itself is a bit silly for highlighting such a mundane part of transition, but looking at it from the big picture, it's an article that highlights the everyday struggles of TS people without seeming shallow or defamatory. It's almost as if a non-TG person might read this and feel sympathy for our cause. If that's the desired result, then I say it's a good article.

[Arch]

I guess it might cause a non-TG to sympathize. But I found the headline pretty irritating even though it was clearly meant to be humorous. And I didn't feel sympathy for the TG people quoted in the article. I found myself thinking, "For gosh sakes, change your name BEFORE you start getting stubble" and "You didn't realize that your name is associated with virtually everything you do and every record that's out there on you? Really?"

Even if your name change got delayed for some reason, maybe you should SHAVE before you try to buy booze with an ID that identifies you as a girl. Sheesh.

Okay, maybe I'm being harsh. But I've had my coffee this morning, and I still feel the same way about this article.

Massachusetts. Isn't that the home base of that anti-queer organization Mass...can't remember...oh, yeah, Mass Resistance? Clever name. Abhorrent message. All of which is beside the point, I suppose. (Reaches for more coffee...)

[Miniar]

I can not legally change my name until next December and I "need" to use my cards and identifications (and cards that ARE identifications) with the old name until then.
I'm actually worried someone will confiscate my wallet and call the cops at some point or another... I'm aiming to get a piece of paper from my psychiatrist in July when I "can" go see him to safeguard from that... :/

[Arch]

Min, I know you have to wait a full year...but things are not so stringent in the United States with regard to name change. Heck, I changed my name more than a decade before I started transition. Of course, I had the inconvenience of having a distinctly male name--not at all unisex--and a big F on my ID, but the ID was rarely a problem because I looked like my picture (except my last one, which was so bad it barely looked human at all).

Anyway, the point is that getting a name change in the U.S. is relatively easy unless you are in a truly redneck jurisdiction and have rotten luck with the judge. And this article was as much about the gender marker change as it was the name change--but Massachusetts has quite enlightened policies about that. I don't know why the guy with the three-day stubble didn't take care of his name change earlier, and I don't like the way he was chosen as representative of trans people. I don't know why the gal was so surprised to find out that our names are tied to everything. A real shocker, that.

Back to you--if you have to get a carry letter, I hope you can arrange that. It might make your life easier.