Fair and Accurate Identification for Transgender People
by Harper Jean Tobin
http://isites.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k78405&pageid=icb.page414493Harper Jean Tobin is policy counsel of the National Center for Transgender Equality in Washington, DC. From 2007 to 2009, Ms. Tobin was the staff attorney for the Federal Rights Project, National Senior Citizens Law Center. Ms. Tobin received a J.D., M.S.S.A. from Case Western Reserve University in 2007 and a B.A. from Oberlin College in 2003.
Identification documents are a ubiquitous and essential currency of contemporary life. Yet for transgender people, these quotidian documents are also among the most serious barriers to employment, housing, essential services, and even personal safety. Most government agencies still adhere to an outmoded paradigm that requires proof of surgery to change gender on personal documents. But an increasing number are placing discretion regarding document changes in the hands of transgender people and health care providers rather than bureaucrats and judges. This approach is fair, medically supported, and has proven workable. This article recommends that such an approach be adopted by all state and federal agencies.
