We are Real People, with Real Feelings

Hi Bree - Great blog! Few questions... Can you explain what you mean by "legal limbo"? And how have you experienced discrimination at work? (Were you able to make a case against your company?)

Hello nygal14,

Thank you for your kind comment. I plan to write several more blogs for more information about my experiences from childhood to present. Many questions may be answered in the blogs....I'll try my best to address comment questions along the way. :-)

Legal limbo refers to an antiquated legal system that does not recognize or have a way to handle the spectrum of transgender existence. Compounding this is the issue of social bias and discrimination in applying existing laws that should protect us as human beings. It can get complicated especially if the transgender person has not had surgery or can not get it for other medical reasons that prevent surgery. As one simple example of limbo in my case, TN is the only state that will not by law allow my birth certificate sex marker to be changed from "M" to "F", although I have a surgical letter from my surgeon as required by many other states that will allow the change or amendment of birth certificate. TN will not even amend or note the birth certificate to indicate a change has occurred..... If I were to marry a man it could be contested...although I could get married based on my drivers license having an "F" the marriage would be in legal limbo.....same for any other place in the world that does not allow the birth certificate change or legally recognize the amendment. I am currently involved in getting this TN law overturned and I can't talk too much more about it. Getting a passport is an extra legal burden because of this as well. Their are many other examples and were finding new ones each day as more trans people mainstream and an antiquated legal system with social bias that operates it is challenged. The legal system in the case of divorce puts the transgender parent in legal limbo because the system has no well established language for processing situations outside a gender binary much less the social bias present that does influence how legal proceeding are handled creating further problems usually discriminating against the transgender person. I have no children BTW and I will try to talk about why in another blog. Also the prison systems are very cruel in regard to transgender people especially those who have not had surgery. Most prisons deny medical treatment for our condition. The AMA, American Medical Association, just this year made clear it's position and updated it's policy in support of our condition. On the topic of the prison system I will refer you to the documentary Cruel and Unusual, www.cruelandunusualfilm.com, which chronicles some of the challenges that transgender people face in prison and in the legal system, which is a sad and ugly reflection of this countries legal systems general attitude toward transgender people. We are often treated as 4th class citizens....paramedics are known to not properly treat transgender accident victims due to bias which has resulted in death or more severe injury. Their are countless examples of clear cases where law enforcement does not follow up a trans murder or hate crime because of bias in this country as well as the world. We clearly do not have equal protection under the law in this country, creating a broad state of legal limbo.

As to employment discrimination and my situation....I was fired from a national retail store years ago in the mid 80's because of my presentation and had difficulty getting even minimum wage jobs due to bias. My early experiences in employment discrimination in the mid 80's contributed to a decision I made later while I was still in school to start my own company to insulate and protect myself...but I ended up building my own prison, I will save that for another blog here very soon. :-)

More progressive companies now have non-compulsory transgender non-discrimination policies in place, a few states and several counties have sparse transgender employment non-discrimination laws/policies, and we have nothing to date at the federal level, however if a fully inclusive ENDA becomes law soon we will.... Here is more information on that; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Employment_Non-Discrimination_Act

~Bree

In reply to smithcs 10.13.08 post....

In general I am not going to respond to negative posts as most of them speak for themselves. I can only wonder how you may implement this bias where you work....You clearly feel a sense of entitlement to speak out in this manner toward us as if our existence is irrelevant....sadly your comments do not surprise me.

To correct your statement... I did not change my identity, I aligned my body to my innate sense of self, my identity.

Yes I care about the pain and suffering in the world upon all human beings. I am not sure where you got the idea that I nor the others in this documentary because we have experienced a gender incongruence don't care or are not contributing to humanity or lack the capacity to care about others. Quite the contrary when someone sacrifices their life for the benefit of others while pushing themselves to the brink of suicide while still trying make life easy on others around us I think that's a good indication we care...

My struggle is a unique minority one, and as such not well understood which caused me pain and obstacles in life. See smithcs your attitude toward me is part of the problem we face.... I am here to educate and share my experiences to help alleviate the need for others after me to prevent more pain and having to defend themselves against hate and ignorance in any form...such a simple thing to let someone alone who is not hurting you in any way, and yet here we are....

I am the biggest needle coward on the face of the planet, however I am a blood donor and I am on the national registry for bone marrow transplant donation to have my body harvested to save the lives of others, strangers I do not know, who are suffering from the devastation of cancer, perhaps you may need my marrow one day smithcs, perhaps someone you know and love will or already does.

~Bree

I really admire your courage...the courage to understand your core self...and do something about it. I am 59 and have spent most of those years in denial of me; who I am inside. I am not a freak or some person seeking a thrill. My core person just simply does not match my birth sex. Perhaps some day our society will understand the difference between gender and biological sex. I challenge the smitcs's out there to spend one day walking in my shoes. I didn't ask for this, I have asked God to please take this 'thing' from me. My denial of who I really am has actually caused more pain then if I had dealt with this honestly when I was young. It has now cost me a marriage of 39 years and I am sure as I progress down the path of truth for me there will be many other consequences to come.

Bree that is what I mean by courage...being true to yourself...

Bree, just watched youe episode and I must say, damn girl you can sure play a fiddle! I really enjoyed your playing!