RGMCjim
05-26-04, 08:37 PM
I think most of you know that I have progestin induced virilization. When I was born in 1957 with ambiguous genitals the doctors attending my mother did not know much if anything about Intersex, and were not aware of that large dosages of progestin would result in Intersexed babies. I was initially assigned female but it was suggested to my parents that they dress me in yellow and green, call me by a nickname and wait to see if I leaned toward girl or boy. In very early childhood I clearly identified as a boy so that's how I grew up. I was taught that I was "just like all the other boys" except for having a penis that didn't develop all the way and no testicles. My childhood certainly wasn't uneventful, and neither my parents nor I learned the complete truth about my body until I was 44 years old.
One of the issues that remains unresolved is my birth certificate. My parents attempted to have it changed when I was a teenager and I tried myself when I was in my late twenties. Both attempts were unsuccessful and lack of funds prevented a lengthy legal battle. The only model they had for changing gender on a birth certificate was transsexuals and I didn't fit the bill. I'm currently employed as a paralegal and the lawyer I am working for has been trying unsuccessfully for two years to get it changed. I'm facing right-wing conservative judges who, 20 years later, still have no legal precedents for gender changes except for transsexuals. They told my lawyer that they don't even have a protocol for dealing with this on an individual basis. She has submitted my petition three times, each time including a new list of required documents, legal research, medical definitions and affidavits. They have yet to except the petition.
One of the great loves of my life is singing in the Rochester Gay Men's Chorus. This summer GALA choruses will lay siege to the city of Montréal like singing barbarians. Between 6000 and 8000 GLBTI will be singing. Not me. It is possible to get a passport even if you don't have a birth certificate but I'm not getting anywhere with it. I was given a list of documentation by the State Department and I sent twice as much as they asked for. I was reassured that this was just a simple matter and that I would have my passport in no time. I was smarter than to get excited with false hope. Good thing. When my request reached the head of the department he sent me a letter asking for an original divorce decree rather than a copy and a long form birth certificate. I sent these in and received yet another letter from him asking for another affidavits from someone who knew me as an infant and could corroborate that the female birth certificate did in fact refer to me, and demanding another official record such a baptismal certificate. If I could produce these items they would issue me a passport under the name I've lived my whole life as. However, they would not change the gender.
The partner of one of the men I sing with in chorus works for the post office processing passports. They were at Tim's and my Union last October. He couldn't believe that this was unresolvable and tried calling the State Department himself. He hit the same brick wall I had. Quite simply, they know that Intersexed people exist and even know what our needs are likely to be but have no vehicle for handling us on an individual basis. My friend's advice to me was to go ahead and get the passport with the incorrect gender on it and if I am stopped trying to get back into the United States I should just explain my circumstances. Boy would I need balls for that trick.
So far my odyssey in achieving a legal identity that matches my life, my appearance, my identity, my position in society, and parts of my sexual anatomy, (although not all of it) can be summed up this way;
My gender counts for nothing. My physical appearance counts for nothing. The fact that I have lived my entire life as a boy/man counts for nothing. The fact that I was married to woman counts for nothing. The fact that I am a father counts for nothing. The fact that I am a gay man amongst Gay men and have been partnered to the same man and raised children with him for the past 10 years counts for nothing. The fact that my Social Security records, school and employment records, tax records, medical records, and driver's license etc. all say "male" counts for nothing. I'm not legally defined by the reality of my life, or my body. If that were the case everything would say Intersexed man. I'm not legally defined by the close second of male/man. I am legally defined by the best guess made by an obstetrician in 1957 on the day I was born, and despite 47 years that contradicts that initial assignment the legal system is not willing and not required to change it.
I would really enjoy hearing the experiences of other Intersexed people who have been in a similar circumstance.
Jim Costich
One of the issues that remains unresolved is my birth certificate. My parents attempted to have it changed when I was a teenager and I tried myself when I was in my late twenties. Both attempts were unsuccessful and lack of funds prevented a lengthy legal battle. The only model they had for changing gender on a birth certificate was transsexuals and I didn't fit the bill. I'm currently employed as a paralegal and the lawyer I am working for has been trying unsuccessfully for two years to get it changed. I'm facing right-wing conservative judges who, 20 years later, still have no legal precedents for gender changes except for transsexuals. They told my lawyer that they don't even have a protocol for dealing with this on an individual basis. She has submitted my petition three times, each time including a new list of required documents, legal research, medical definitions and affidavits. They have yet to except the petition.
One of the great loves of my life is singing in the Rochester Gay Men's Chorus. This summer GALA choruses will lay siege to the city of Montréal like singing barbarians. Between 6000 and 8000 GLBTI will be singing. Not me. It is possible to get a passport even if you don't have a birth certificate but I'm not getting anywhere with it. I was given a list of documentation by the State Department and I sent twice as much as they asked for. I was reassured that this was just a simple matter and that I would have my passport in no time. I was smarter than to get excited with false hope. Good thing. When my request reached the head of the department he sent me a letter asking for an original divorce decree rather than a copy and a long form birth certificate. I sent these in and received yet another letter from him asking for another affidavits from someone who knew me as an infant and could corroborate that the female birth certificate did in fact refer to me, and demanding another official record such a baptismal certificate. If I could produce these items they would issue me a passport under the name I've lived my whole life as. However, they would not change the gender.
The partner of one of the men I sing with in chorus works for the post office processing passports. They were at Tim's and my Union last October. He couldn't believe that this was unresolvable and tried calling the State Department himself. He hit the same brick wall I had. Quite simply, they know that Intersexed people exist and even know what our needs are likely to be but have no vehicle for handling us on an individual basis. My friend's advice to me was to go ahead and get the passport with the incorrect gender on it and if I am stopped trying to get back into the United States I should just explain my circumstances. Boy would I need balls for that trick.
So far my odyssey in achieving a legal identity that matches my life, my appearance, my identity, my position in society, and parts of my sexual anatomy, (although not all of it) can be summed up this way;
My gender counts for nothing. My physical appearance counts for nothing. The fact that I have lived my entire life as a boy/man counts for nothing. The fact that I was married to woman counts for nothing. The fact that I am a father counts for nothing. The fact that I am a gay man amongst Gay men and have been partnered to the same man and raised children with him for the past 10 years counts for nothing. The fact that my Social Security records, school and employment records, tax records, medical records, and driver's license etc. all say "male" counts for nothing. I'm not legally defined by the reality of my life, or my body. If that were the case everything would say Intersexed man. I'm not legally defined by the close second of male/man. I am legally defined by the best guess made by an obstetrician in 1957 on the day I was born, and despite 47 years that contradicts that initial assignment the legal system is not willing and not required to change it.
I would really enjoy hearing the experiences of other Intersexed people who have been in a similar circumstance.
Jim Costich