I haven’t updated any of my documents yet, and I saw that the disgusting bill that’s pending in Indiana would make it impossible for trans people to change their gender marker. Although there has been an executive order stopping the department of health from processing court-ordered name changes there for the past year. I don’t think Indiana is ever going to do something that would help a trans person…
What are my options? Am I stuck with incorrect or mismatched documents forever?
Or at least until those laws change, yeah. There’s not much you can do.
Mismatched documents could sometimes be an issue, but having documentation like the court ordered name change showing there was a legal gender change as well is usually enough to show the paper-trail. So I would overall still recommend updating whatever documents you still can.
You could also potentially update the name on the birth certificate even if not the gender marker.
Or alternatively leave the documents alone entirely, so they can’t use data crawlers to identify you as trans. Remember all the concentration camps already exist, they just need to fill them. Keeping as low a profile as possible would be an excellent idea right now.
Maybe, but then you out yourself entirely - I have female genitals, a female body, people look at me and see a woman … having a male gender marker and male name on my driver’s license or other documents would be very confusing and would obviously out me.
It’s different if you’re not taking HRT, but once you are medically transitioning there are significant reasons to try to update documents and pass as much as possible.
Also, the concentration camp idea is some projected fear of what the future holds for trans people in the US, and an unlikely one compared to continued barriers to transition and criminalization that leads to individuals being found guilty of “gender identity fraud” or “cross-dressing” and then ending up in jails or prisons to be detransitioned (much like already happens in Florida). This eventuality is very different than a Holocaust style concentration camp exclusively for trans people and a single moment of rounding up all the trans people.
Not denying the possibility, but I think it’s foolish to ignore practical concerns like updating your name and gender marker where you can in the face of a currently non-existent threat on the possibility it could exist later while the threats of outing yourself with outdated documentation now is very real.
skavau is a clown
Just as long as you are aware that it’s essentially Peter Thiel and Elon musk that run the usa currently. And if centrally stored documentation doesn’t show any changes then the federal government are not going to suspect much. And if you live in a state that’s more progressive then a male name on a driver’s license is easy enough to explain to a cop given the current political climate.
Elon Musk was booted from the administration a while ago and continues to go back-and-forth between conflict and appeasement with Trump.
I also wouldn’t say Peter Thiel “runs the US” as much as he just has influence and is facilitating the Trump administration, e.g. providing technology to support ICE.
You have far too much optimism for police in progressive states, the police and correctional officers in those states are not particularly safe and there have been many lawsuits and reports about mistreatment of trans people in “progressive” states like California, Illinois, New York, etc. at the hands of police.
58% of trans people who interacted with police when the police knew they were trans reported mistreatment:
https://transequality.org/issues/resources/failing-to-protect-and-serve-police-department-policies-towards-transgender-people
Progressive states still habitually ignore their state laws and put trans women in jails and prisons with men, e.g. in California.
Since OP lives in Michigan it’s well within their ability to update their driver’s license to a female name and gender marker, and I think they should obviously do so for their own safety - particularly since they are on estrogen and at some point will likely no longer appear male.
Well fuck. I am intrigued by the notion of changing the name only when I can’t change the marker, and then updating both anywhere else where I can. I wonder if there is any legal assistance nearby that can help me with the nuances of the forms and stuff
You need a court ordered name change first, you go to the local court and file a petition to change your name, you have to provide some documentation proving you are who you are, and there is usually a small fee. Then you show up to your court date and the judge might ask some basic questions like whether you’re changing your name to evade lenders or to commit fraud, and as long as you don’t have a criminal record and are changing your name for gender-change reasons, the judge just signs the court order. You get some amount of official signed & notarized copies for free, but I would recommend paying to get extras.
Then once you have that court order, you can use it to update your name elsewhere - like your birth certificate, your driver’s license, your passport, etc. A lot of times they take and keep your court order, which is why I mentioned paying for extra copies.
Each form is different but it’s not that complicated and shouldn’t require assistance. There are plenty of online resources to help you navigate this stuff, e.g. https://transequality.org/resources/name-and-gender-marker-change-101