Our names and gender identities are perhaps the two most fundamental components of our identities. They are how we know ourselves and how others know us as well. The piece of information one shares most often with other people is one’s name. The ways that names and gender identities are perceived are linked to all sorts of socioeconomic benefits and barriers. Being forced to live with the wrong name or gender marker perpetually inflicts harm. Being able to correct those can be a deeply liberating and affirming experience for anyone, but is particularly impactful for transgender and gender non-conforming individuals. No matter who the client is, correcting a name or gender marker is a deeply personal process. It demands advocacy that is centered around clients’ needs and desires for themselves.
This manual outlines not only the legal steps required to correct an individual’s name or gender marker, but also the critical role that effective advocacy plays in assisting clients navigating these processes. Clients are asked to expose the inner workings of their social and medical lives in order to obtain the approval of strangers sitting in judgment to decide if the clients have proven their existence to be true enough. Effective advocacy shields these clients when they want, uplifts their humanity, and should empower them regardless of the outcome.
While the legal processes for correcting names and gender markers are relatively static, the impact of the legal and political atmosphere of our communities on these processes cannot be underestimated. The existence of transgender and gender non-conforming individuals continues to be a topic of relentless scrutiny and intense partisanship. This inevitably leaks into our legal systems and can poison that system entirely if we are not diligent and attentive in our advocacy for clients seeking to have their name or gender marker corrected.