This was more than a curiosity for me. I had to hash this out with my therapist(s) for my SRS letters. I am full-time now. I go out publicly as a woman, I go to work as a woman, and I am legally female. My IDs, birth certificate, bank accounts, credit cards, etcetera, are all changed. But that process took time, and I didn't have everything done until early December. The new birth certificate came in December., and that's when I came out at work. My new passport came in November. My new driver's license, with my new gender, was issued in October, right after my name change became official. But I had FFS in September, and I had petitioned the court for a legal name change back in July. I started HRT a year before that.
However, even now, I can't dress like a girl if I want to see my kids. So, I take off all my makeup and jewelry, go without a bra, and wear a t-shirt and jeans. So am I "presenting as the gender I identify with" on a continuous basis? If the answer to that is no, does that mean my clothing defines my gender? That's obviously absurd, so what does "presenting as your identified gender" mean?
Does it mean it is when you look like a girl (or boy, if you are FtM)? Does it mean you act like a girl (boy)? I was prepared to argue that I was full-time once I got some legal ID saying I was female. If I am legally female, I am female all the time, by definition. Doesn't matter what clothes I wear, or what I look like.
One of my letter-writers, a psychologist specializing in gender therapy, was more liberal in his interpretation. He asked me, "When did you apply for your legal name change?" I told him the end of last July. He said, "Then we will put that you have been full-time since July". His rationale was that was a documentable event that signaled my transition. It's as good an argument as any, I guess, even if entirely arbitrary.
With kindness,
Terri
