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OK, I just have to get this off my chest and into written form so I can stop obsessing. A recent change in laws allows transexuals to put the gender they live as on their drivers licences, provided they go through a bunch of legal forms that includes assessment by at least two doctors to make sure they really are transgendered and are changing their gender permanenetly. The article on Bodyhack has over a hundred comments, some depressingly mean-spirited, on this topic. I'm glad to note at least one person replied to the "You're either XX or XY so stop pretending, you queerlosers/abominations" crownd by pointing out that no, even on a purely biological level it's not that simple (google Kleinfelter's or Turner's syndromes some time).
However, it occurs to me that the chromosomes are irrelevant to this situation - driver's licences and other everyday forms of ID are social, not medical documents - my various ID cards don't tell people my blood type, or whether I have any chronic diseases or allergies, or anything about my dental records. They show my date of birth (so I can be verified for certain legally-age-restricted activities); my legal name (which I could apply to have changed); my sex, a basic attempt to describe my colouring ("eyes: blue"); and a head shot which should more or less ressemble me in an ordinary daily situation (i.e., with clothes on, my hair styled, make-up if I wore it). As a basic identity document for average, low-security-risk situations, an ID card should reflect its owner's normal appearance and social identity; if it insists they are the opposite gender from the one they appear to belong to, even if that happens to be true on a biological level, it fails to perform its proper function, and at best confuses the official who asks to see it; at worst creates wrongful suspicion of its owner.
However, it occurs to me that the chromosomes are irrelevant to this situation - driver's licences and other everyday forms of ID are social, not medical documents - my various ID cards don't tell people my blood type, or whether I have any chronic diseases or allergies, or anything about my dental records. They show my date of birth (so I can be verified for certain legally-age-restricted activities); my legal name (which I could apply to have changed); my sex, a basic attempt to describe my colouring ("eyes: blue"); and a head shot which should more or less ressemble me in an ordinary daily situation (i.e., with clothes on, my hair styled, make-up if I wore it). As a basic identity document for average, low-security-risk situations, an ID card should reflect its owner's normal appearance and social identity; if it insists they are the opposite gender from the one they appear to belong to, even if that happens to be true on a biological level, it fails to perform its proper function, and at best confuses the official who asks to see it; at worst creates wrongful suspicion of its owner.
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Date: 2006-11-09 04:33 am (UTC)From: