Day 5 - The Real Day 5
So I can’t cant my days. I ran out of fingers. Figuratively. Not literally. Sue me. Ha. Today’s post is going to be shorter than the goal. There is a lot of ideas running around my head but I think brevity today is going to more productive for this project. I did want to briefly touch on a subject that has been at the back of my head as I worked on some projects at work today. Bureaucracy regarding transition documentation.
I started my name change process on November 6, 2023. In that time, my wonderful wife, co-workers, colleagues, and friends have been absolutely supportive in switching to my new name. Originally, I didn’t want to shake the tree until I had the paperwork supporting my name change. I felt that by having the paperwork, it would give my transition legitimacy.
This idea of needing paperwork to have legitimacy in transition hurts. I am glad and incredibly happy that I have this incredible support system surrounding me. In my mind, I thought that the paperwork is what would make me official. The state I live in does make it somewhat easy to transition without to many hoops to jump through to get it done.
However, the process and waiting on the courts to review and sign the documenation is frustrating. I get that the family courts tend to be overloaded at that is the cause for certain forms taking up to sixty days to be signed. It is tough to keep waiting at each step when people continue to use your legal/dead name because that is what is on your documentation.
While I do agree that there should be some checks and balances about name changes, I think we need to find a better method to providing access to transpeople. I don’t think I have the perfect solution; nor do I think there is a perfect solution. Hear me out, what if a person is able to pull their official background and have it notarized by a clerks office as being accurate. From there, the clerk could sign and approve the name change paperwork for gender transition.
I fully understand that the court reviews and checks criminal status to avoid people working the system to hide from their past. However, I wonder if there are people that avoid the courts because of the lengthy process and a lack of clear communication in the filing process. Yes, there are guides and resources to assist. I think it can feel overwhelming to navigate those resources alone.
With all of that in mind, if you need help, just know that you are not alone. There are many resources in your community. Find your local queer non-profit organization. They are wonderful people and their whole purpose is to show you that you are valid and assist you through these processes.
If you are in the Reno area, check out these resources.