A novel approach....

[Kara]

Yesterday I found myself in that same old uncomfortable yet familiar position in a new doctor's office. Somehow or another I managed to crack a tooth from the very top all the way down to the bottom of the root and had to have an emergency extraction because infection set in and was spreading fast throughout my body.

I arrived early to fill out the mountain of paperwork. As I'm filling out the new patient information about my medical history, low and behold there it was...neatly placed right after name, address, and phone number, my most dreaded question that sends me into panic...Male or Female. Sitting there uncomfortable and stressing about what should be the easiest question for any human to answer, I decided to save this one for last.

As I handed the paperwork back to the receptionist, she asked me if I was finished. Sheepishly I said, "Well not quite. I have a question about one of the questions." With a smiling face she happily said, "You're in luck because I bet I have the answer." The whole time I'm thinking to myself...honey, not this one you don't.

Mustering up the courage, I finally utter out the words, "This will probably sound like a dumb question to you until you hear why I have to ask it. I have no idea how you would like me to answer the question male or female." I then proceeded to tell her I'm intersexed and gave her the short version of Intersex 101. I almost went on to explain that I'm a chimera and what that meant, but I could see that I already went over her head. I ended my spiel with, "So do you want me to answer by what my birth certificate says, or what I am biologically?"

With a confused but caring look she politely said, "I've never been asked that one before." The receptionist thought about it for a moment and finally exclaimed, "I know the answer!!!" She grabbed a pen and put an "X" right in between male and female on the form.

In amazement I exclaimed, "You know what? That makes sense. You really do have all the answers!!!"

Why didn't I think of that?

[Dana Gold]

Please forgive me for sounding harsh; however, when the Real ID Act officially takes effect in your state, then you must enter the sex as it is on your federal ID card (to be issued from your local DMV) which will be the same as it appears on your birth certificate..... elsewise you will be in violation of federal law. What effect that law will have on those who have transitioned and legally changed their original birth certificate (which I gather is an expensive and gruelling process) and those who have an intersex condition with a "conflicting" or "lost" birth certicate, remains to be seen. As for the last time I went to a new doctor's office, I left it blank; the receptionist later noticed it and filled it in for me...she marked F and the doctor who examined and interviewed me wrote: '55 year-old female.......' into her notes and later official report of the procedure results (had out-patient gastro-esophageal endoscopy). My hospital wrist ID had the F also. That won't "fly" in the future with this new law....I foresee a lot of confusion and many potential problems for transsexual and some intersexed people with the strictness of this law. Before I legally changed my name and sex on driver's license, people would tell me, "I'm sorry, maam, but you can't deposit your husband's paycheck"....the same would occur when I would try to use my credit card or library card.....and I had no documents from any doctor stating I was undergoing the transsexual thing because I had not yet seen an endo, nor started hormones, only had been "in-process" with a psychologist ...a mess that compelled me to hurry up the legal name change....a few months of public outing/humiliation and lots of explaining still happened until I got my driver's license changed to the F....which, with the new law will be changed back to the M, most likely at my expense since I will have to get a lawyer to deal with the task of having three different birth "reports" (in german) with the first having no sex , and all having different names on them...... and no official birth certificate because I was not born in a hospital, but at "home" (W-Germany, 1950)

ISNA's article on this law:

http://www.isna.org/news/realID

:rolleyes2

[uriela]

Thanks, Dana,

Something else to worry about. : (

In 2000 I stopped in front of a police officer. Well, I THOUGHT I was speeding. My speedometer read 60 and it was a 45 mph zone. After a hesitation, he turned on his fright lights and parked behind me. I didn't
think he saw any of this, although a friend of mine commented that officers pay attention to EVERYTHING. I dutifully handed over my driver's license with male ID and my insurance card and he asked me where I lived and where I was going. He was standing four or five feet away from the car and, I swear! dancing a jig! I pointed to where I lived, and said it was about four miles away. He handed my cards back and told me to watch my speed. I pulled out onto the road and another car came up behind me. And then he pulled up and followed both of us up the road and turned behind us after a stop sign as we went north. At the next stop sign I turned left and he turned right.

I thought it was very peculiar and it took me a long time to realize that he was probably on the verge of pulling his revolver out!

The prospect of anything like that happening again is rather daunting. Since then my name has been changed and the gender marker on my driver's license went from M to F. I did get a speeding ticket after that. That officer dropped his clip board and flashlight on the way back from his car. I turned my head to see if he were all right. He told me my speed and said, "Yeah, you were really booking it, Ma'am." I almost rolled my eyes. If he only knew how fast I used to drive! Of course I went to court to get probation and the judge gave me a most endearing smile.

I guess it is up to the states to decide how they are to deal with the gender marker thing. The law says "gender" and not "sex". Some people, myself included, don't think of them as being quite the same thing. And I hate my "right to privacy" being violated by a little thing as a gender marker! And I hope the police get clued in so they don't jump to "I got a terrorist!!" conclusions

I do have a little conundrum (in addition to all the other things assaulting my cerebrum) about how they would ever identify me as the same person as having my birth certificate. It has no fingerprint or footprint. I was born during WWII in 1943. They may have been rationing gasoline, but I don't think they were rationing ink. It wasn't registered until a month and a half later. My aunt says it might have been a bit slow because of the times. Really? The court house was only four miles away.

My brother's b.c. includes his prints, so he says. And he was only born 22 months later. Why wouldn't mine have prints?

Sign me,
confused and concerned

[Betsy]

My BC doesn't include any prints. This is from New York State in 1964.

However, there is a record of my birth seperate that was issued by the hospital that included foot prints. I recall it from seeing it in childhood but don't have possession of it. I suspect it is a drawer in my dad's house somewhere. Shortly before Mom died, she did hand me my newborn ankle bracelet and I always thought it was odd it didn't have sex on it but have learned since then that birth sex isn't routinely entered on it.

I would think that if the BC reflects the sex and gender the person IDs as and all other legal ID papers reflect the same (passport for example), it won't be much of a problem. That said, if I had identity papers that reflect someone who I was when born or grew up as, I would be concerned about getting it all changed pronto before the new law takes effect.

BD is not the name on all of my ID but because I have ID as BD as well as my birth name (another female name...not gender or sex changes; only a name issue that began two decades ago for work/professional reasons), I need to do the same. Shit, I've got some utilities under one name and others under another...not sure of the legality of it all but it's never been done with an eye towards fraud and in fact, I've been subpeoned in a criminal case (not mine---as a witness) under my chosen name and still had to show up according to the attorney as that is the name I am commonly known as. When I asked other attorneys about have always been told that I am responsible for the actions of BD and MB equally due to the way the law works. One thing I never did was change my SS records and continue to earn money under MB only. Periodically, it rears it's head at me but I usually manage to get around it by showing IDs in both names and smiling/talking really nice and explaining the situation.

Anyways, putting this on my honey-do list for myself.

Betsy