The Slow Fade Picks Up Speed

Anita · Post by **Anita** » Wed Aug 12, 2009 1:40 am

I'm enjoying reading these posts too. Since I have not been expressing my gal self directly for months on end, I see that I like reading reports from the front lines. Yet I'm still called "Anita" in male garb, and I still facilitate at the support group even though I'm dressed male.

I was scheduled to play in Reno the 15th, and in San Francisco the 23rd, so I knew I'd be getting SOME female time. BAM! A table leg collapsed on my left hand, and I had to cancel both gigs.

I'm not concerned, as I know my femme self is not going away. She's just resting. Glad your femme self is busy and moving along.

Stephanie H · Post by **Stephanie H** » Wed Aug 12, 2009 7:00 am

Kimberly:
Keep the positive attitude and activly working on the transistion. Stay in front of the emotional and social curve.

Absaroka · Post by **Absaroka** » Wed Aug 12, 2009 11:05 am

Anita I'm sorry about your hand. Those sound like they might have been fun gigs.

Kimberly thanks for the update. I've read that the switching back and forth can be a bit crazy making. In another vein the guy who wrote Black Like Me years ago talked about visiting the same place in two different colors and found it to be a profoundly disturbing experience that made him doubt his sanity.

Ab

Kimberly Kael · Post by **Kimberly Kael** » Fri Oct 09, 2009 9:01 pm

It's been a while since I posted an update, but that's primarily because the rest of life has been keeping me busy. There's been little of note worth reporting - until today. Today I finally did my legal name change.

It was staggeringly easy in my area. A little paperwork, a cheque, and a look at my driver's license this morning was all it took to file the petition. I went back in the afternoon to appear before the judge and answer a handful of questions under oath and that was it. The judge signed it, I walked away with a few copies, and I'm one step closer to living full-time as a woman.

Next stop? Getting my identification updated to reflect my new name. In theory I have to begin the process within 30 days but in practice there aren't really any "ID police" who worry about this kind of thing. I'm just going to try to juggle it with our travel plans this winter so I have something with a name that matches my ticket!

Virginia · Post by **Virginia** » Fri Oct 09, 2009 9:36 pm

Thanks for the up date Kimberly. Some one posted and I also read that the TSA has tightened their procedures, but before that you still have to get past the airline personnel at the ticket counter as well. It seems that if you have a ticket, a passport or darn what is the PC term ??? Oh, yes a government issued ID, i.e., for most of us that is a driver's license. All you may have to say to the TSA, quietly, is that you are TG. From speaking to several TSA employees, their primary concern in this area of identification is that the person in question easily convinces them that they are not trying to "pull something" or use subterfuge to get past them. They are not the least bit concerned about the clothes or lack thereof, up to a point

what someone is wearing.

Have fun dear and thanks again for posting

Love,

Virginia

Kimberly Kael · Post by **Kimberly Kael** » Sat Oct 10, 2009 1:41 pm

Virginia wrote:Some one posted and I also read that the TSA has tightened their procedures

I haven't flown since the mid-August change this year where you are required to book your ticket under a specific gender. My understanding is that this must match your identification, but it doesn't have to match your presentation.

In my limited experience so far, consisting of two round trip flights earlier this year, everyone from check-in to TSA, immigration and customs is well-trained regarding transgender issues. I was never asked and never had to explicitly acknowledge that I was traveling with a male gender marker on my ID while presenting female.

So I will continue to travel dressed appropriately for my preferred gender, but I'll need to be careful about booking tickets as I change my identification. In the short term I'll need to make sure I still have valid ID for the name my existing tickets are booked under. Once everything is done I'll book my domestic travel as female and use my driver's license, but international travel requires that I book as male since I have to use my passport (even though I'll still present female while traveling.) The passport will continue to show a male gender marker since I'm not going to meet their surgical requirement to get that changed.

Kimberly Kael · Post by **Kimberly Kael** » Thu Oct 22, 2009 12:32 am

Today's news: I received my letter from the State of Washington Department of Licensing okaying my new driver's license. So now I just need to find the right time to drop by a local licensing office, and the right look to appear in my new photo.

Needless to say, I'm very excited. Hopefully new credit cards arrive in a similar timeframe so I can do my first bit of celebratory shopping under my new identity. Huzzah!

Carolynn · Post by **Carolynn** » Thu Oct 22, 2009 4:27 am

Hi Kimberly. Sounds like things are proceeding apace for you. Just be sure you have changed the name on your social security card if you are still drawing a pay check. If the name on the card and the DL and how you are listed at work do not match, you can have some trouble from homeland security, like having your pay held up, or having to explain things to the boss and a federal agent.

Oh, and after surgery, you need to return to Social Security with your letter to have the gender marker amended on your Social Security paperwork. It doesn't show (yet) on your SS card, but it can cause confusion if you do not get it changed as soon as you can after surgery.

I do not recall if you have written about your overseas travel, but if you have time to do so, you can get a temporary passport in your femme name with a female gender marker that makes travel easier. I will look up and post the relevant links in a subsequent post. It can make travel easier going to and from gender surgery, for example, and it converts to a regular passport when you have a letter from the surgeon after the surgery.

Carolynn

Carolynn · Post by **Carolynn** » Thu Oct 22, 2009 4:36 am

Information for a temporary or medical passport.

Customer:
QUESTION: It is my understanding that I can place F on my NEW first time passport if I am in the final stages of transition with a scheduled surgery date. Could you please tell me what all the requirements are for this part of the process?

NPIC (National Passport Information Center) Response:

GENDER CHANGE
Customers who have undergone, or are in the process of undergoing, a gender reassignment can have passports issued to reflect their new gender.

DS- 11: New applicants will need to submit the following documents with a DS-11 application form.

DS- 82: For applicants who already hold a valid passport and fall within the DS-82 requirements to renew a passport, may use the DS-82 form with the following documents to obtain a passport reflecting their current gender status.

These customers must submit:
1. Evidence of Citizenship
2. Evidence of identity
3. Photographs which reflect a good likeness of their current appearance
4. Fees
5. Medical documentation that they have either undergone gender reassignment surgery or that they are preoperative transsexual and will soon have the surgery. The medical documentation for a post-operative transsexual should be from the surgeon or hospital that performed the surgery.

Preoperative transsexuals should provide a detailed statement from their medical (not psychological) physician which outlines their treatment (Your endocrinologist should write this letter)

6. Name change evidence - Usually this is in the form of a certified copy of the court order which changed the customer's name. If they have not obtained a court order, they must submit evidence of a customary name change.

Customers who have undergone gender reassignment surgery are issued full validity passports showing the new gender. Customers who are preoperative transsexuals and are traveling for the purpose of completing the surgery, are issued temporary passports valid for one year. These passports can be extended upon submission of appropriate medical documentation.

Thank you.
National Passport Information Center
_______________________________________________________________________
Customer:
Thank you for your quick response. In regard to question 5 for a pre-operative transsexual. Is the physician’s letter required to be certified or notarized?
Also, are there any specific requirements as to what information need to be in the letter to satisfy your requirements?

Just to let you know I already have the following:
2. Drivers license
2. Court Order- Certified
1. Birth Certificate- Certified
____________
NPIC (National Passport Information Center)
Hello,
The letter should be on the doctor's office letterhead with contact information for the doctor. They do not need to be notarized. Medical documentation (letter) must say that they have either undergone gender reassignment surgery or that they are preoperative transsexual and will soon have the surgery. The medical documentation for a post-operative transsexual should be from the surgeon or hospital that performed the surgery. Preoperative transsexuals should provide a detailed statement from their medical (not psychological) physician which outlines their treatment.

Carolynn · Post by **Carolynn** » Thu Oct 22, 2009 4:40 am

This is an example of the letter that has proven successful in getting a medical passport.

Dr. zzzzz The Permanente Medical Group, Inc
6600 Bruceville Road
Sacramento Ca 95823
Phone (xxx) xxx-xxxx
Fax (xxx) xxx-xxxx
Email xxxxxxxxx@xxxxx

To whom it may concern,

I, Dr. zzzzz, declare:

1. I am a licensed physician in the State of (fill in state_.

2. <name> whose date of birth is xxxxxxxxx, xxxxxx, is a patient of mine. <name> has been a patient of mine for approximately x years. She has been on hormone therapy as part of her transition for x years.

3. <name> has been in counseling as part of her transition for approximately x years under the care of vvvvv, PhD.

4. <name> has informed me that she will undergo transition related surgery under the care of Dr. Suporn Watanyusakulon on June 20th, 2007.

5. Over the last x years, I have physically examined <name> approximately every 3 months.

6. <name> has undergone extensive facial feminization surgery on (date) with Dr. Douglas Ousterhout. (if applicable)

7. Therefore, I can attest based on <name>'s representation and on my personal knowledge that <name> is a preoperative transsexual, she will be undergoing irreversible surgery that will change her sex characteristics as a part of her transition from male to female as indicated in item 4.

8. I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the state of xxxxxx is a that the foregoing is true and correct. Sworn on (DATE) in xxxxxxxxxx County, (State). (notarization)

_________________________
Dr. zzzzz

This is the letter format that xxxxx sent with her passport application. It is one that she pre-typed for the convenience of her Dr. and got notarized

Kimberly Kael · Post by **Kimberly Kael** » Thu Oct 22, 2009 2:39 pm

On revisiting the thread I realize I never did answer your questions about GRS/HRT from page one, Carolynn. Sorry about that! There was so much else in that post that I guess I was thinking about the content but not the questions by the time I reached the end.

I've never really considered GRS so my passport and birth certificate will just have to disagree with my driver's licence. The risk/reward ratio just doesn't add up for me. HRT is a slightly more complicated issue because the upside calls to me more strongly, but I've made a point of not considering it a necessary for my social transition. It's not a strictly necessary part of me living as a woman - I prefer to think about it as a medical issue that any woman with a hormone imbalance might face.

I know that the complete social transition without hormones is unusual, but that's fine by me. If sticking to convention was important to me I suspect I would find other things to angst over first!

Carolynn · Post by **Carolynn** » Thu Oct 22, 2009 7:08 pm

Hi Kimberly. Thank you for the clarification. I would urge you to go ahead and have your name changed on your social security docs, whether you jump through the hoops to change you gender or not. Same with the birth certificate. None of the potential problems are likely to occur if all your docs agree, and you can have a passport in your femme name too, though it will say male.

I think Washington state is one of the states that has decided they will allow a F on the DL, but if you need other docs to agree, do not take advantage of it if it is offered.

To some transition mean surgery, but to most it is taking on the social role and general appearance of the target gender, full time, and declare that intent in legal circles as you have. So welcome to transition!

It does seem slightly unusual for someone to be a transgenderist/non-op rather than at least using hrt to improve presentation, but it is not usually written about nor are there many case studies, so the actual incidence of people choosing that mode is not known. It may be greater than we think. There are cases where the need is there, ranging from the need to be able to preserve social/family relations to costs of transition. And for some people the surgery is just not needed to be who they are. Everyone is different, and everyone must find their comfort point. It can vary for the individual, and it can also change through time.

It appears that whatever version of ENDA and the Mathew Shepard Bill's are passed (eventually) the term transgender will be used, so you will be covered should you have job probems in the future.

Wishing you all the best Kimberly!!
Carolynn

Kimberly Kael · Post by **Kimberly Kael** » Sat Oct 24, 2009 12:11 am

Today was my day to visit the local driver licensing office. I honestly didn't know what to expect. Do they get gender changes often enough that the staff has a clue, or will they decry my letter as an obvious fraud? Sorry to ruin the suspense, but apparently the answer was no on both counts.

There's a receiving desk where they find out what you're there for and ensure that you're waiting in the right queue for service. When I arrived I handed the woman working the desk both my gender and name change paperwork in addition to my current license and announced that I needed a replacement driver's license. Staring at my license, she seemed confused at first. "Was your license suspended?" I explained in more detail what I was there for, whereupon she broke into a big smile, said "congratulations!", winked and handed me a number. That's not exactly the response I was expecting but it was welcome nevertheless.

About five minutes later my number was called, but it didn't take long for the woman waiting on me to decide that she was out of her depth and ask for a supervisor to take over. No problem. She was very polite about it and pointed out who would be calling me when she was free. A few more minutes passed before I was called (by my correct name!) The supervisor admitted she wasn't sure she remembered what needed to be done, but it didn't take her long to sort it all out. She looked at my old license and declared that I was cute as a guy but that I made a very pretty woman. Awwww. At this point I was beginning to suspect that they'd all been told to flirt with anyone transgendered, but I doubt that's official policy.

She took me over to get my photo done and while it isn't my favorite portrait I don't think you're supposed to actually like your driver's license photo. If it was especially flattering people might think it was a fake! I got a temporary card on the spot and was told the real thing would be in the mail within 30 days. So now I'm the proud owner of a card that clearly states that my sex (not my gender, curiously enough) is "F." I'm holding off celebrating properly until the real thing arrives but all I have to do now is sit back and wait ...

Kimberly Kael · Post by **Kimberly Kael** » Sat Oct 24, 2009 12:19 am

Carolynn wrote:I would urge you to go ahead and have your name changed on your social security docs, whether you jump through the hoops to change you gender or not. Same with the birth certificate.

I've already ordered amended birth certificates, and I'll be following up with social security but I need to coordinate that with work for tax reporting purposes. I won't be able to change gender on either but since neither one is necessary very often I don't think it will be a big deal.

I think Washington state is one of the states that has decided they will allow a F on the DL ...

I did indeed opt to have my DL gender marker updated. Since that's the ID I'll be using most often I believe it makes sense to have it match my presentation.

Wishing you all the best Kimberly!!

Thank you, Carolynn. I appreciate it is immensely.

Pat · Post by **Pat** » Sat Oct 24, 2009 1:10 am

Hi, Kimberly, you must be very pleased and flatted with the results of license change over going through without any hiccups.