News and Events => Political and Legal News => Topic started by: Shana A on November 20, 2009, 09:28:37 AM Return to Full Version
Title: Name changes and forced outing: a small victory
Post by: Shana A on November 20, 2009, 09:28:37 AM
Post by: Shana A on November 20, 2009, 09:28:37 AM
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Name changes and forced outing: a small victory
Posted by Harper Jean Tobin at 3:55 PM
http://nctequality.blogspot.com/2009/11/name-changes-and-forced-outing-small.html (http://nctequality.blogspot.com/2009/11/name-changes-and-forced-outing-small.html)
Governments force transgender people to disclose that they are transgender all the time. They make us carry around little pieces of paper and plastic with our birth-assigned sex listed on them, just begging any police officer, bank teller, customs official, airline agent or the like to ask just what are you anyway? They keep that old sex designation in computer files – your driving record, your Social Security record, Medicare record – that get shared here and there. They make us appear in open court, or take out an ad in the newspaper, to announce that we're changing out name from Kate to Kevin, or from Kevin to Kate. They say this is necessary for "accuracy" and "fraud prevention." These government systems very seldom recognize the very real dangers of the official outing of trans people in so many areas of our lives – the dangers not only of embarrassment, discrimination and harassment, but the very real danger of violence when we are outed against our will to untold numbers of strangers. So it was refreshing recently to see one government body – namely a court in Westchester County, New York – show a genuine recognition of these dangers.
Name changes and forced outing: a small victory
Posted by Harper Jean Tobin at 3:55 PM
http://nctequality.blogspot.com/2009/11/name-changes-and-forced-outing-small.html (http://nctequality.blogspot.com/2009/11/name-changes-and-forced-outing-small.html)
Governments force transgender people to disclose that they are transgender all the time. They make us carry around little pieces of paper and plastic with our birth-assigned sex listed on them, just begging any police officer, bank teller, customs official, airline agent or the like to ask just what are you anyway? They keep that old sex designation in computer files – your driving record, your Social Security record, Medicare record – that get shared here and there. They make us appear in open court, or take out an ad in the newspaper, to announce that we're changing out name from Kate to Kevin, or from Kevin to Kate. They say this is necessary for "accuracy" and "fraud prevention." These government systems very seldom recognize the very real dangers of the official outing of trans people in so many areas of our lives – the dangers not only of embarrassment, discrimination and harassment, but the very real danger of violence when we are outed against our will to untold numbers of strangers. So it was refreshing recently to see one government body – namely a court in Westchester County, New York – show a genuine recognition of these dangers.