20 July 2013

Reality=Porgography?

I found this great infographic that expresses some of the stark realities of transgender life:



However, when I tried to access the site on which it appeared--transfeminism.tumblr.com--it was blocked as "pornography".

Hmm....

3 comments:

Erin B said...

Here I am just being nosey, but were you able to change your ID? Life in Canada is just different and I hadn't ever considered that someone post surgery wouldn't be able to change ID. That just seems ... wrong.

Justine Valinotti said...

Hi Erin, I didn't have any trouble changing my IDs. Shortly after I changed my name, I was able to get a new non-driver's ID for New York State. (It looks like a driver's license and serves as a legal ID.) After that, I was able to get a Social Security card (which doesn't have a gender ID) and passport with my new name. Letters from my doctor and therapist were enough to secure those IDs.

After my surgery, my letter from my surgeon enabled me to get a new passport with my gender idenity and to change the gender on my Social Security records. It also allowed me to acquire a new birth certificate with my new name and gender identity.

I don't know how things work in Canada, but New York City and State make it comparatively easy to get the ID you need. I was born in Georgia, but I had no problem in getting the birth certificate once I had the letter from Dr. Marci Bowers. And, just before I left Trinidad, Colorado (where I had my surgery), one of Dr. Bowers' assistants brought me to the local Social Security office, where I was able to change the gender on my records within four minutes. (I timed it.)

Perhaps I was fortunate. On the whole, however, the process of changing my IDs was fairly smooth.

Erin B said...

I believe it is fairly easy to change your ID up here, but I haven't ever asked about it. Every once in a while I run into a small note hidden in someone's health records to ask or not ask about pregnancy (I'm an x-ray tech) but by and large, transgender people just come through my department with the M or F on their health card matching how they are presenting themselves. Post op, even the note is removed.