4 ms·

There is a field in state IDs and US passport files for previous names. It is ostensibly there for maiden names or fraudsters. Countless times it has outed me a

There is a field in state IDs and US passport files for previous names. It is ostensibly there for maiden names or fraudsters. Countless times it has outed me as a transsexual, and causes me to face harassment from cops or ICE agents.

irrational 9y ago
I'm curious, what are you doing that cops are looking up your information so often? Is this from being pulled over for traffic violations? I'm struggling to think of the last time I had any interaction with someone who wanted to see an ID from me. Maybe I just don't get out often enough ;-)
- nilved 9y ago
  Are you white?
- rexpop 9y ago
  Your lack of experience does not matter, in this conversation: your comment reads as a victim-blaming apology for state violence.
  - mikestew 9y ago
    Bullshit. The comment started with "I'm curious..." I am curious as well, because as I try to be empathetic, it is difficult because I cannot create a scenario in my mind where a cop asks about my gender. So instead of just blowing it off as "$DISPARAGING_WORD_FOR_TRANS's had it coming" or whatever an unsympathetic phrasing would be, I'd rather be sympathetic by asking, "help me out here, how do the difficulties that you face (that I apparently don't) play out?" But you call that "victim blaming". It's one of the reasons we don't get nice things.
    - Pixeleen 9y ago
      There are a lot of people who want to be the heroes of transsexuals because we are the topic of the moment. They twist words around or exaggerate, like this undue accusation of violence when I described comments/questions/looks and nothing physical. Those people do not speak for me. That said, there are other people in my situation who have suffered actual violence, not just harsh looks and words.
      - mikestew 9y ago
        There are a lot of people who want to be the heroes of transsexuals Thank you for a more charitable view of the comment to which I replied.
- Pixeleen 9y ago
  Actually, it was only once with a cop in recent memory, and yes it was for a traffic violation. I am a frequent international traveller as well. In neither circumstance should what the computer has about my previous genitals come into play. I write that I am a transsexual here for simplicity, but I am not "trans". That is not who I am. I am a woman, not a woman with an asterisk.
  - ythn 9y ago
    > I am a woman, not a woman with an asterisk. I think the information the asterisk conveys is important. For example, I don't think trans women should be allowed to compete against cis women in sports on even terms since it is physiologically unfair.
    - Pixeleen 9y ago
      Sounds like moving goalposts, however: If you're talking about a pre-operative trans woman, whose body is still riddled with testosterone, I would agree with you.
    - deleted 9y ago
      [deleted]
    - da_chicken 9y ago
      It's really only important in the long term for medical reasons. There some some diseases which have genetic factors which your doctor needs to be aware of. Similar to knowing that an adopted child is not natural born from the parents. An inaccurate or incomplete genetic history of a patient can result in misdiagnosis.
    - DanBC 9y ago
      unfair, you say? http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/10/26/560210230/winner-of-high-school-golf-tournament-denied-trophy-because-shes-a-girl http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/10/26/560210230/... http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/golf/emily-nash-golf-tournament-teenage-girl-win-no-trophy-boy-central-massachusetts-a8022601.html http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/golf/emily-nash-golf-tour... > US teenage girl wins golf tournament but is denied trophy because she's not a boy
- lovich 9y ago
  You probably don't. Arizona had their version of "papers, please" until it struck down and NYC has/had stop or frisk. Then there's the Constitution free zone around the borders which covers the majority of the country population. You may not be from the US, in which case I can understand the incredulity. In the US however you are at whims of local law enforcement for if your day is going to get fucked/life ended. The only protections against them are _after_ the fact and in recent times only if you are rich or your situation gets viral support from the nation
ythn 9y ago
On the flip side, it would be much easier to change identities if you didn't have to list previous names which would be heavily abused by criminals, etc.
- bcg1 9y ago
  Criminals, on occassion, fail to comply with the law.
- rexpop 9y ago
  It would? I wonder.
  - Pixeleen 9y ago
    You are both right. If there was a transsexual exception to this field, I just KNOW that some criminals would abuse it, to the detriment of those of us who actually need this protection.
    - jasonkostempski 9y ago
      Maybe just don't let know criminals legally change names. Is that not already a thing?

irrational 9y ago

I'm curious, what are you doing that cops are looking up your information so often? Is this from being pulled over for traffic violations? I'm struggling to think of the last time I had any interaction with someone who wanted to see an ID from me. Maybe I just don't get out often enough ;-)

nilved 9y ago
Are you white?
rexpop 9y ago
Your lack of experience does not matter, in this conversation: your comment reads as a victim-blaming apology for state violence.
- mikestew 9y ago
  Bullshit. The comment started with "I'm curious..." I am curious as well, because as I try to be empathetic, it is difficult because I cannot create a scenario in my mind where a cop asks about my gender. So instead of just blowing it off as "$DISPARAGING_WORD_FOR_TRANS's had it coming" or whatever an unsympathetic phrasing would be, I'd rather be sympathetic by asking, "help me out here, how do the difficulties that you face (that I apparently don't) play out?" But you call that "victim blaming". It's one of the reasons we don't get nice things.
  - Pixeleen 9y ago
    There are a lot of people who want to be the heroes of transsexuals because we are the topic of the moment. They twist words around or exaggerate, like this undue accusation of violence when I described comments/questions/looks and nothing physical. Those people do not speak for me. That said, there are other people in my situation who have suffered actual violence, not just harsh looks and words.
    - mikestew 9y ago
      There are a lot of people who want to be the heroes of transsexuals Thank you for a more charitable view of the comment to which I replied.
Pixeleen 9y ago
Actually, it was only once with a cop in recent memory, and yes it was for a traffic violation. I am a frequent international traveller as well. In neither circumstance should what the computer has about my previous genitals come into play. I write that I am a transsexual here for simplicity, but I am not "trans". That is not who I am. I am a woman, not a woman with an asterisk.
- ythn 9y ago
  > I am a woman, not a woman with an asterisk. I think the information the asterisk conveys is important. For example, I don't think trans women should be allowed to compete against cis women in sports on even terms since it is physiologically unfair.
  - Pixeleen 9y ago
    Sounds like moving goalposts, however: If you're talking about a pre-operative trans woman, whose body is still riddled with testosterone, I would agree with you.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
  - da_chicken 9y ago
    It's really only important in the long term for medical reasons. There some some diseases which have genetic factors which your doctor needs to be aware of. Similar to knowing that an adopted child is not natural born from the parents. An inaccurate or incomplete genetic history of a patient can result in misdiagnosis.
  - DanBC 9y ago
    unfair, you say? http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/10/26/560210230/winner-of-high-school-golf-tournament-denied-trophy-because-shes-a-girl http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/10/26/560210230/... http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/golf/emily-nash-golf-tournament-teenage-girl-win-no-trophy-boy-central-massachusetts-a8022601.html http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/golf/emily-nash-golf-tour... > US teenage girl wins golf tournament but is denied trophy because she's not a boy
lovich 9y ago
You probably don't. Arizona had their version of "papers, please" until it struck down and NYC has/had stop or frisk. Then there's the Constitution free zone around the borders which covers the majority of the country population. You may not be from the US, in which case I can understand the incredulity. In the US however you are at whims of local law enforcement for if your day is going to get fucked/life ended. The only protections against them are _after_ the fact and in recent times only if you are rich or your situation gets viral support from the nation

ythn 9y ago

On the flip side, it would be much easier to change identities if you didn't have to list previous names which would be heavily abused by criminals, etc.

bcg1 9y ago
Criminals, on occassion, fail to comply with the law.
rexpop 9y ago
It would? I wonder.
- Pixeleen 9y ago
  You are both right. If there was a transsexual exception to this field, I just KNOW that some criminals would abuse it, to the detriment of those of us who actually need this protection.
  - jasonkostempski 9y ago
    Maybe just don't let know criminals legally change names. Is that not already a thing?