A reader writes: “I am a trans woman who transitioned at a young age. During this time, and for years after, I was pretty much unemployable, becoming stuck in a legal twilight where I didn’t have enough money to complete SRS and thus obtain full legal recognition as female, and due to other circumstances, retaining [...]
Posts Tagged ‘legal’
Ask Matt: Trans at Tax Time
Posted in Advice, Ask Matt, Information, tagged discrimination, employment, legal, transition on January 9, 2012 | 5 Comments »
Ask Matt: The Legalities of Marriage in Trans Land
Posted in Advice, Ask Matt, tagged being trans, gender expectations, legal, LGBT, relationships, same-sex marriage on November 21, 2011 | 17 Comments »
A reader writes: “I am a transman in a committed relationship (6.5 years together) with a cisman. We met when I was still presenting as female, and he has been a source of unconditional love throughout the process. I hope to begin hormone therapy in early December, and he supports me. “We were in a [...]
Prison Without Education Serves No One
Posted in Commentary, tagged crime, legal, restrooms, transphobia on September 15, 2011 | 13 Comments »
Teonna Monae Brown was just sentenced to five years in prison for the brutal beating of Chrissy Lee Polis, a trans woman, at a McDonald’s restaurant in Rosedale, Maryland. The sentence was actually ten years, with five years suspended, plus three years probation after the sentence is served. Some trans activists think the sentence is [...]
Ask Matt: Petitioning for Name and Gender-Marker Change
Posted in Advice, Ask Matt, Information, tagged gender identity, legal, transition, transsexual on August 29, 2011 | 8 Comments »
A reader writes: “I’m just starting the process to get my name and gender marker legally changed. I was born and live in Colorado. I’m going to use the court system in a county that hasn’t seen a petition of this type, at least that I’m aware of. I will not be using a lawyer [...]
Ask Matt: Dealing with a Transitioning Coworker
Posted in Advice, Ask Matt, Observations, tagged discrimination, employment, gender expectations, gender expression, legal, transition on August 18, 2011 | 34 Comments »
A reader writes: “I have a coworker who, over the course of the four years we have worked together, made the transition from a man to a post-surgery woman. “I have tried to be supportive of each phase of the transition, but my coworker has made it increasingly difficult. Each phase was a surprise – [...]
Ask Matt: Can a Trans Man Adopt a Child?
Posted in Advice, Ask Matt, Information, tagged being trans, discrimination, family, legal on August 15, 2011 | 3 Comments »
A reader writes: “I am wondering if there are any other transgender people who have started and/or gone through the process of adopting a child ‘post’ transition (gender marker, name change, etc.), and if so, were you successful in adopting? What were the challenges? (I know about the standard background checks.) “I am specifically looking [...]
Ask Matt Monday: Comments on the Maryland McDonald’s Assault
Posted in Ask Matt, Commentary, Observations, tagged crime, discrimination, hate crimes legislation, Internet, legal, restrooms, transphobia on April 25, 2011 | 17 Comments »
A few people have asked me what I think about the brutal attack on a trans woman by two other women at a McDonald’s near Baltimore, Maryland, last week. A McDonald’s employee filmed the attack, and the video is all over the Internet. If you have not yet seen it, beware – it is quite [...]
Show Us Your Genitals! and Other Gender Weirdness
Posted in Commentary, News, Observations, tagged bodies, discrimination, employment, family, gender expression, legal, surgery, trans men on April 14, 2011 | 25 Comments »
I don’t know how people have the time to get upset about all the things they get upset about, but once again, we’ve got people worrying about non-issues, as if we’ve actually solved all the real problems in the world and have to dig up stuff to keep us shocked and offended. First of all, [...]
Ask Matt Monday: How Do I Deal With Threats?
Posted in Advice, Ask Matt, tagged community, crime, discrimination, legal, transphobia on February 7, 2011 | 5 Comments »
A reader writes: “How do you deal with weekly threats? I’ve been to the police and the mayor and have not been taken seriously. “I live in a rural conservative enclave in a ‘blue’ state. I am intersex and trans and my partner is trans. Our property has been defaced, people make open comments when [...]


You Can’t Have It Both Ways, Tennessee DMV
Posted in Commentary, News, tagged bodies, legal, surgery, trans women, transition on November 23, 2011 | 10 Comments »
This isn’t my usual posting day, but this infuriated me so much that I had to say something. It seems that Andrea Jones went to a Tennessee DMV office to have her driver’s license gender marker changed from “M” to “F.” The office refused because she didn’t have paperwork documenting proof of genital surgery. But [...]
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