I'm going to be going to a new high school this coming September, but will also be (officially) transitioning (hopefully) beginning this summer. I have a couple issues, though.
Can I register as male, even though all my paperwork (birth certificate, insurance, medical history, etc.) says I'm female and uses my birth name?
Can I register using my male name rather than my birth name? (This isn't so much an issue because I can ask my teachers to call me by Piers and I think I can change it for the yearbook.)
And gym class. At the new high school the requirement is four gym credits, meaning one per year. I could barely handle changing for gym last year in the girls locker room, and I'm planning on being stealth at the new school. I'm not sure if there are alternative gym classes, but I also don't know if I can take three alternative classes and still get full credit. This is probably my biggest issue - I don't want to have to change in the girls locker room again, especially if I'm on T by the time I start school.
I'm probably going to bring this up when we go to register at the high school, but I'm mostly asking to see if any other transguys have gone through this during their high school years.
EDIT: After a bit of searching, I finally found graduation requirements and the lot. I have to take a gym class every semester that I'm in the school "regardless of any handicapping conditions". There is an alternative course, but only after passing a fitness test (75% or higher) and filling out paperwork - but only for one marking period. I feel that it's a ridiculous policy, but still hope that they'll make an exception for me. Maybe a doctor's note would help? I'm not sure. My dad said that we'd talk to the administration when I register. :\
If you're allowed to register as male (try to get your name changed before then if your parents are supportive) then you should be allowed to use the men's locker room and be in the men's gym class.
From my own personal experiences, there should be stalls available to change in if you don't want it obvious that you're in transition. If nothing else, ask for permission to change clothes in the bathroom instead of the change room.
I have the same questions as you but sadly I haven't come out to my guardian yet and I believe If I even mention the topic my she'd throw a fit -__-" I live in Tx so I think I'd be pretty restricted from doing that..
Though if things go well for you I'd like to know how it went : )
Quote from: MasonM on July 01, 2011, 08:14:16 PM
If you're allowed to register as male (try to get your name changed before then if your parents are supportive) then you should be allowed to use the men's locker room and be in the men's gym class.
From my own personal experiences, there should be stalls available to change in if you don't want it obvious that you're in transition. If nothing else, ask for permission to change clothes in the bathroom instead of the change room.
I'm pretty certain my parents wouldn't bee too keen on getting my named changed so soon, so that's out of the question.
I also haven't seen the school other than the performing arts department, and they're building a new gymnasium, so I'm not too sure if there are places to change other than locker rooms.
hi im in high school and i change in the health office bathroom. hypothetically if you were allowed to change in the boys locker room you could just wear an undershirt or loose tank top and change like that. also i suggest packing and using a jock strap during gym class.
You might be able to get a medical excuse and skip gym altogether. It's probably a long shot, though.
I strongly suspect that the school will want your legal name. You can always call them up and ask.
I would suggest that if it's possible, try and have a meeting with the school counsellor and talk with them about some of these issues. If you can get them on your side, it's possible that they will talk to the school and try and work some of these issues out for you.
Or if you have a therapist that you're seeing who is friendly (I know two of the four people I've seen would do this for me) then you could ask them to write you a letter to excuse you from gym, sighting 'severe emotional trauma' or something of the kind. No school I know of would go against a letter like that from a trained therapist.
If you can meet with the principal or someone high up in the school, and just explain your situation, it shouldn't be too hard to get them to agree to enrole you as male and have your chosen name on the class role, even though they'll probably still want your 'correct' information. :(
Thanks for the suggestions everybody :)
I think I'm going to talk it over with my therapist before I decide for sure and I'll probably talk to someone in administration or something about my situation, like some of you suggested.
If your therapist is behind you, you can accomplish a great deal. Keep us posted.