Sunday, October 12, 2008
In the past I have reported on the option of getting a court order for name change in Washington State if attempts in your local jurisdiction have met with resistance from a judge with an attitude. Several readers have done this, though you will need to establish residency in Washington State by receiving mail there and travel to the courthouse where you established residency in order to complete the process. You will probably have to appear before a judge and may have to swear that you are a resident. If you have properly established residency, these questions can be answered honestly.
A reader who just did this notes:
I had some trouble with a Judge in my local court. It seems that he did not think that transition was a valid reason to change my name and had refused my request on two attempts. I had the option to appeal but after searching your site came on a better solution.
I have relatives living in Washington state, a place where name changes are quite easy.
The first thing I did was to contact the court in the county where my relatives reside and get the requirements. They live in Tacoma/Pierce county. I was informed that all I needed to get a name change was a picture ID and a birth certificate. Out of state ID was OK. There is a residency requirement but the term or permanence of the residency was not an issue.
This is when I remembered the the debate of George Bush Sr. and the question of where he should vote. It seems that although he lived in Kennebunkport, he owned property in Texas and could therefore call it his residence. This was justified by him receiving mail at the Texas address. I simply established my residency by sending myself mail at my relative’s address, with their permission of course.
I flew to Seattle/Tacoma, had a nice visit with my relatives and went to the courthouse the next day. The courthouse is quite small and it took less than five minutes to fill out the two page name change request. I walked from the clerk’s office to the courtroom and was called for my hearing in less than a half hour.
The Judge was great, she called me by my female name and never once mentioned the former. She was very complementary on my reasons for the name change referring to them as “Definitely Necessary.” She congratulated me on my new name, admonished me to followup with my State ID and Social Security, and we were done. She never asked me about residency or had me swear that I lived there. I had two certified copies in my hand no more than ten minutes later and additional copies to be mailed to my Tacoma address in about a week.
The court costs were $117.00. I had travel and lodging expenses but all together it was less than what it had cost me for another attempt in California, and far less then the attorney fees for an appeal.
I got my name change and had a nice few days in Tacoma.
Just thought that this might be helpful to others.
More information:
Name change for transgender people:
http://www.tsroadmap.com/reality/name-change.html
Washington State name change information:
http://www.tsroadmap.com/reality/name/washington.html
Washington State residency information for out-of-state readers:
http://www.tsroadmap.com/reality/name/washington.html#residency
This is talk, not advice. See Terms of Use for details.
Friday, October 03, 2008
Has-been sexologist Richard Green (author of transphobic classic The Sissy-Boy Syndrome) and his hand-picked successor Kenneth Zucker (the key proponent of reparative therapy on gender-variant children), have both been busy compiling surveillance photos of anyone in the transgender community who dares to criticize them.
Below is a full report of the recent protest at a conference both Green and Zucker attended.
http://auntysarah.livejournal.com/162767.html
The protest leaflet is at this link:
http://narcissus.dyndns.org/Sarah/Zucker.pdf
An update discusses the recent habit of Zucker and cronies taking pictures of their critics.
http://auntysarah.livejournal.com/163283.html
Holiday Snaps???
An update to this post from earlier today. I’ve spoken to someone who was in the conference, and they asked Richard Green why he was taking photos of us.
Apparently he was doing it at the request of Zucker himself, who wanted a souvenir, because he “found the attention amusing”.
So there are going to be pictures of me, a few other transpeople, and a bunch of allies in Zucker’s holiday snaps album. Knowing what they say about those who protest too much, I do hope he’s not planning to view them with a box of Kleenex at the ready.
Urgh! I think I need a shower.
And sandpaper.
Lynn Conway responded with an amusing observation that Zucker was also snapping shots of his trans critics at a recent WPATH conference.
This reminds me of WPATH 2007, when Zucker walked up to me, stuck a camera in my face and quickly took a photo of me - while in parallel asking if it “was OK”. No hello or anything. Just a camera in the face.
I then noticed he was doing same thing to other trans-women there, and this seemed incredibly rude, domineering and presumptuous on his part - especially given the history of animosity between him and the trans-community.
One can only imagine what he does with all his trans-photos. Analyses of trans-types? Sharing laughs over them with his “scientific colleagues”? Jerking off?
As Chair of the American Psychiatric Association committee, Zucker will be determining how trans people will be defined in the next edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V).
Zucker is very politically astute and can probably now feel the shifting political winds that will make him the George Rekers or Charles Socarides of the “experts” on trans people. He will be viewed as one of the affable but misguided people who brought great misery to our community and especially to those who don’t fit their ideologies and taxonomies and nosologies. The immediate concern is for the unfortunate children under Zucker’s “care” who aren’t the hopeless incurables, the 10% he allows to transition. It’s the other 90%: the children he thinks he can save by taking away their pink crayons and not allowing them to draw girls or even play with girls. I mention only the MTF spectrum because 5 to 30 times as many children who are “too feminine” get treated in these clinics.
The hopeless incurables will conform to normative roles once they transition. My concern is for the non-conforming children. There’s an overfocus by our community on children who want to make a complete transition, because I believe many of us want these children to have the opportunity for early transition that we did not. But the children who are being policed and hurt the most by Zucker are those 90% on the borderlands, who get coerced and shamed into expressing their assigned gender, by their own parents, at Zucker’s behest. I can think of few things more psychologically damaging to a child, whether it’s done in the name of religion, psychology, or any other oppressive enterprise.
This is talk, not advice. See Terms of Use for details.
Posted by
Andrea James on 10/03 at 07:39 AM
Youth Issues •
Permalink
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
http://www.actblue.com/page/trans
Click now to support Obama!
Thanks to all who spread the word about Monday’s Trans for Obama Day! Over 100 new donations came in yesterday, nearly doubling the total (WOW!), but it’s not too late to add your voice. Today is the last day of the quarter, so you can really maximize the influence of your donation by doing so today. Let’s keep the momentum going!
Below is some additional coverage since my last post:
- Autumn Sandeen
- riftgirl
- Annie Rushden
- Laura Calvo
- Joann Prinzivalli
It even got picked up in the LGBT blogosphere:
- Justout blog coverage
Thanks to all who have participated so far, and please consider helping out today!
Click now to support Obama!
This is talk, not advice. See Terms of Use for details.
Posted by
Andrea James on 09/30 at 08:01 AM
Real World •
Permalink
Monday, September 29, 2008
Wow, so far so good! As Trans for Obama blog day gets underway we already have some great entries:
- Caprice Bellefleur
- Kate Bornstein
- Helen Boyd
- Lena Dahlstrom
- Annie Rushden
- Dr. Jillian T. Weiss
Be sure to read Kate’s post for an interesting take on our political status 20 years ago. It’s easy to forget that when I was born, trans people were rounded up, arrested, and beaten by police on a regular basis, as a matter of procedure. It’s still happening today. But we began fighting back, at the Compton’s Cafeteria in San Francisco and the Stonewall Inn in New York. We would not be where we are today if the most marginalized segment of the LGBT community had not stood up and said “We aren’t going to take this any more!” The Stonewall Democrats are named in honor of that defining moment in our history, that tipping point. Our community has always been an important part of the LGBT rights movement, and today is another chance to show that. If you haven’t yet, I urge you to contribute, spread the word, tell your friends, post it on your website or MySpace of Facebook, make a difference today. We will continue to make ourselves heard until we all have the right to express ourselves and our gender freely and without fear!
This is talk, not advice. See Terms of Use for details.
Posted by
Andrea James on 09/29 at 10:03 AM
Real World •
Permalink
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Click now to support Obama!
The transgender community has a voice and has political influence, so today is Trans for Obama blog day!
This is a great chance for Obama supporters in our community to help in a way that will get noticed. Obama needs as much money and as many donors as possible to beat McCain. If you saw McCain’s views on LGBT marriage on Ellen Degeneres or have heard some of the unbelievable opinions held by Sarah Palin, it’s clear who will do more to support the rights of trans people.
Tuesday is the end of the quarter and everyone will be watching. These numbers are really important. I believe it’s entirely possible for our community to get 250 total donors today, and I urge you to stand up and be counted with me. If you can give a substantial amount, great, but your $5 donation is just as important. I know that’s a lot for some of us. Many of us face the tremendous costs of transition out of pocket, combined with difficulties finding and keeping good jobs due to anti-trans discrimination, but the tide is changing. We have just won a major legal victory in the employment case brought against the Library of Congress. We need to keep that momentum going, and one important way to do that is to usher in a new era of more progressive leaders.
We have already shattered our second goal, and I believe we can completely surpass the goal of 200 total donors and get to 250 donors today (just 150 more to go). This is a great chance to make a difference, even if it’s $5. Join me in showing your support now. Just click on the link below, and let me know by email or via comment here how you decided to help!
http://www.actblue.com/page/trans
I’ll be posting updates throughout the day, including links to other trans bloggers and our allies. Thanks in advance for supporting this important initiative!
Spread the word and share this link:
http://www.actblue.com/page/trans
This is talk, not advice. See Terms of Use for details.
Posted by
Andrea James on 09/28 at 11:48 PM
Real World •
Permalink
