# If a couple is married, and one of them gets a sex change, are they still married? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 14, 2009, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-couple-is-married-and-one-of-them-gets-a-sex-change-are-they-still-married/503059 "2009-07-14T23:46:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-couple-is-married-and-one-of-them-gets-a-sex-change-are-they-still-married/503059/1 "2009-07-14T23:46:57Z")
Obviously this question would only apply to states that ban gay marriage. I suddenly thought of this because I realized sex change has a lot longer history than legalized gay marriage. What happened to the marriages of those people who had sex changes? I remember that at least some of them divorced, but I’m sure some stayed together. Did the states consider them the changed sex in everything else but marriage, and allowed the marriage to be grandfathered in to legality? ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-couple-is-married-and-one-of-them-gets-a-sex-change-are-they-still-married/503059/2 "2009-07-15T00:58:21Z")
Not all states accept that sex-change surgery changes sex. That is to say, you can have (say) male-to-female sex change surgery, but from a legal, official and administrative point of view you are man who has had plastic surgery in order to resemble a woman. This has no implications at all for the (legal status of) your marriage. This was, I think, pretty much the universal legal position when sex-change surgery became a reality in about the 1960s. Many states, but not all, have now legislated to give some legal recognition to the consequences of sex-change surgery, so that someone who has undergone male-to-female surgery will be treated as a woman for at least some purposes – e.g. will be issued with a passport showing sex as female. But they don’t necessarily have a general rule that say that such a person is, in all respects, female. I don’t know, but I doubt if any state has provided that sex-change surgery automatically dissolves a marriage, though, if only because the dissolution of marriage has effects which need to be addressed in specific cases. That’s why we need divorce courts. ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-couple-is-married-and-one-of-them-gets-a-sex-change-are-they-still-married/503059/3 "2009-07-15T02:01:19Z")
Um I think we either have or had a member of the dope that this addressed, she was a male who married in traditional manner and then had the sex change to a woman. Declan ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-couple-is-married-and-one-of-them-gets-a-sex-change-are-they-still-married/503059/4 "2009-07-15T04:02:46Z")
Oh, I can answer this, for Michigan anyway. When I was in college, my multiculturalism professor brought in several homosexual, transgendered, and non-defining gendered individuals to present to us. One was a woman who used to be a man. She honestly still looked like a man dressing like a lady, but she was post-op and had indeed had a sex change. She said that her wife knew about the whole situation and supported her getting the surgery. **And, she went on to explain that they were still legally married** , something he/she looked into before getting the surgery. He/She, at the time, was quite concerned about insurance and other things and discovered that they would still be married. It was the one loophole to Michigan’s same-sex marriage ban, she said. This was in October 2001, by the way. ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-couple-is-married-and-one-of-them-gets-a-sex-change-are-they-still-married/503059/5 "2009-07-15T07:00:01Z")
Under the British legislation adopted a few years ago, which does allow for trans people to be legally recognised as their “new” gender, those who were married must annul their marriage and they can then re-register as civil partners. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-couple-is-married-and-one-of-them-gets-a-sex-change-are-they-still-married/503059/6 "2009-07-15T11:18:06Z")
Kansas will not legally recognize a transsexual as their new sex, so if a couple marries and one of them undergoes SRS, then their marriage is still valid. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-couple-is-married-and-one-of-them-gets-a-sex-change-are-they-still-married/503059/7 "2009-07-15T13:26:11Z")
> [@Declan](#): > > Um I think we either have or had a member of the dope that this addressed, she was a male who married in traditional manner and then had the sex change to a woman. > > Declan If it’s the one I was thinking of, I mentioned this in another thread and was told it was a hoax. I couldn’t find the thread where this was revealed. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Lurker\_Above](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@The\_Lurker\_Above](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Lurker_Above)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-couple-is-married-and-one-of-them-gets-a-sex-change-are-they-still-married/503059/8 "2009-07-15T14:15:04Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > Many states, but not all, have now legislated to give some legal recognition to the consequences of sex-change surgery, so that someone who has undergone male-to-female surgery will be treated as a woman for at least some purposes – e.g. will be issued with a passport showing sex as female. But they don’t necessarily have a general rule that say that such a person is, in all respects, female. I’ve heard at least one trans individual say that when the issue of which sex to officially treat them as comes up the guiding principle seems to be ‘which sex will be most legally disadvantageous’. A general, and _consistant_, rule that all government agencies would have to follow seems like it’d be a great idea. ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-couple-is-married-and-one-of-them-gets-a-sex-change-are-they-still-married/503059/9 "2009-07-15T18:12:56Z")
Some individuals are born as XY males but their bodies don’t recognize testosterone, so they don’t develop as males. I recall seeing an interview with one such person who didn’t realize that she wasn’t truly female until after she had married and tried to have children and the doctors discovered she had internal testicles rather than a uterus and ovaries. The film also mentioned that in England at the time she would have been considered female, but in Scotland she would be considered male. (It may have been the other way around.) ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-couple-is-married-and-one-of-them-gets-a-sex-change-are-they-still-married/503059/10 "2009-07-15T18:19:05Z")
I don’t know about marriage status, but I can tell you that in Thailand, gender is listed on your national ID card. And if you have a sex change, you still cannot change the gender on your ID card. You’re stuck with whatever gender you were physically born with. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-couple-is-married-and-one-of-them-gets-a-sex-change-are-they-still-married/503059/11 "2009-07-15T19:54:49Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > If it’s the one I was thinking of, I mentioned this in another thread and was told it was a hoax. I couldn’t find the thread where this was revealed. Besides the fraud, we have had at least two MTF Dopers and one FTM. **Mahaloth** Why the “he/she” ? The person you’re referring to is a woman. To not use feminine pronouns can be seen as insulting. I’m sure that was not you’re intent, but that’s how many people would view it. **The Lurker Above** has it right. The issue varies from state to state and country to country and is generally whatever would be most inconvenient. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-couple-is-married-and-one-of-them-gets-a-sex-change-are-they-still-married/503059/12 "2009-07-15T21:34:33Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > **Mahaloth** > > Why the “he/she” ? > The person you’re referring to is a woman. To not use feminine pronouns can be seen as insulting. I’m sure that was not you’re intent, but that’s how many people would view it. Goodness, cut **Mahaloth** some slack. If we quote what they said: > [@](#): > > One was a woman who used to be a man. **She** honestly still looked like a man dressing like a lady, but **she** was post-op and had indeed had a sex change. > > **She** said that **her** wife knew about the whole situation and supported **her** getting the surgery. And, **she** went on to explain that they were still legally married, something he/she looked into before getting the surgery. He/She, at the time, was quite concerned about insurance and other things and discovered that they would still be married. It was the one loophole to Michigan’s same-sex marriage ban, **she** said. (emphasis added) …they used the proper pronoun 7 times, and he/she twice. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-couple-is-married-and-one-of-them-gets-a-sex-change-are-they-still-married/503059/13 "2009-07-15T21:53:43Z")
> [@Una\_Persson](#): > > Goodness, cut **Mahaloth** some slack. If we quote what they said: > > (emphasis added) > > …they used the proper pronoun 7 times, and he/she twice. Good thing I can type with my foot in my mouth. ---
**Author:** ![snailboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/97f17d/32.png) [@snailboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snailboy)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-couple-is-married-and-one-of-them-gets-a-sex-change-are-they-still-married/503059/14 "2009-07-15T22:29:15Z")
> [@cher3](#): > > Some individuals are born as XY males but their bodies don’t recognize testosterone, so they don’t develop as males. This is called androgen insensitivity syndrome by the way. The Y chromosome causes testicles to develop. However, due to a mutation in one of the non-sex chromosomes (there’s a name for non-sex chromosomes which escapes me), the testosterone doesn’t effect the development of the other sex organs, which resemble a female. The other thing is that with no estrogen, no uterus or fallopian tubes develop. That’s actually complete androgen insensitivity. There’s also incomplete androgen insensitivity which can lead to a female with a large clitoris, a male with a small penis, or hermaphroditism. But with complete insensitivity, even a doctor has to be looking in the right place to notice it. ---
**Author:** ![MadTheSwine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-couple-is-married-and-one-of-them-gets-a-sex-change-are-they-still-married/503059/15 "2009-07-16T01:56:50Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Oh, I can answer this, for Michigan anyway. > > When I was in college, my multiculturalism professor brought in several homosexual, transgendered, and non-defining gendered individuals to present to us. > > One was a woman who used to be a man. She honestly still looked like a man dressing like a lady, but she was post-op and had indeed had a sex change. > > She said that her wife knew about the whole situation and supported her getting the surgery. **And, she went on to explain that they were still legally married** , something he/she looked into before getting the surgery. He/She, at the time, was quite concerned about insurance and other things and discovered that they would still be married. It was the one loophole to Michigan’s same-sex marriage ban, she said. > > This was in October 2001, by the way. Did You go to Ferris? I betcha I know her.The couple I am thinking of still live as a married couple but do not have sexual relations.The origianl woman took her wedding vows seriously and supported her husband through the change. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-couple-is-married-and-one-of-them-gets-a-sex-change-are-they-still-married/503059/16 "2009-07-16T04:00:54Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > **Mahaloth** > > Why the “he/she” ? > The person you’re referring to is a woman. Right. I used he/she when referring to the deliberation time the man had when he considered becoming a woman. I felt that since he/she was appropriate there because while technically a man, he felt he was a woman. For the rest of my post, I sad “she”. Please don’t look for things to be offended by. It only leads to frustration. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-couple-is-married-and-one-of-them-gets-a-sex-change-are-they-still-married/503059/17 "2009-07-16T06:10:11Z")
> [@ruadh](#): > > Under the British legislation adopted a few years ago, which does allow for trans people to be legally recognised as their “new” gender, those who were married must annul their marriage and they can then re-register as civil partners. I was interested by this, so I looked it up. What **ruadh** says is basically correct, but in the context of this thread it is important to note that sex-change surgery is irrelevant. The UK legislation (the Gender Recognition Act 2004) allows somebody to apply to the “Gender Recognition Panel” for legal gender reassignment. To succeed, they will need to show that they have gender dysphoria, that they have lived in the desired gender for at least two years, and that they intend to live in that gender until death. (A separate set of requirements apply to people who have already had a gender reassignment under the law of another country, but I ignore those). They need to supply medical reports. They don’t have to have had surgical treatment of any kind for their dysphoria but, if they have had it, the medical reports must give details. If, at the time of the application, they are married, then if they satisfy all these conditions they get an “interim certificate”, which has no legal significance or effect, except that it entitles them to apply to court within the next six months for an annulment of marriage. The court, on annulling the marriage, can make all the orders regarding division of property, custody of minor children, maintenance, etc. that they could in any other annulment proceedings. If the marriage is annulled, the “interim certificate” is converted into a full one, and the applicant can then go about getting a new birth certificate, passport, etc. Consequently, as a matter of UK law a sex-change operation changes neither gender nor marital status. There are procedures for having a change of gender and marital status recognised, but they do not involve sex-change surgery. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-couple-is-married-and-one-of-them-gets-a-sex-change-are-they-still-married/503059/18 "2009-07-16T06:50:05Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > If it’s the one I was thinking of, I mentioned this in another thread and was told it was a hoax. I couldn’t find the thread where this was revealed. There have been at least two other posters who transitioned while they were married. I know that in one case, it led to the dissolution of her marriage. Not sure about the other, but I think she’s still married. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-couple-is-married-and-one-of-them-gets-a-sex-change-are-they-still-married/503059/19 "2009-07-16T08:58:20Z")
The situation envisaged in the OP – a couple who remain married after one of them has undergone gender reassignment, and has had the new gender officially recognised - very nearly exists in Australia. Australia does not generally recognise same-sex marriages. The practice in Australia is not to alter a birth certificate to reflect gender reassignment if the person concerned is married. Thus a person who has undergone gender reassignment needs to get a divorce or a nullity decree in order to get a revised birth certificate. Some years ago the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade adopted a policy of not issuing passports showing a gender different to that appearing on the birth certificate. A male-to-female transgendered person applied for a passport showing her gender as female, and produced medical evidence of her female gender. She had married a woman prior to her gender reassignment, and that marriage was subsisting. She did not wish to apply for a divorce, and argued that she was not entitled to a divorce, since her relationship had not irretrievably broken down. Consequently she did not have a birth certificate showing her gender as female. The Department declined to issue her with a passport showing her as female, and she appealed the refusal. The appeal was successful, with the tribunal holding that it was unreasonable of the Department to demand a consistent birth certificate, given that her identity and her gender were adequately established by other evidence (and in fact were not disputed by the Department). The result is that she is now a woman who holds a passport identifying her as female, and whose marriage to another woman is registered. I assume, but I don’t know, that the validity of her marriage is accepted and recognised by tax, social security and other authorities. However her birth certificate still shows her as male. Furthermore her marriage certificate will show her as the “husband” which, given Australian law on marriage, implicitly identifies her as male. So it’s not _quite_ full-blooded legal recognition of same-sex marriage. But it’s close. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-couple-is-married-and-one-of-them-gets-a-sex-change-are-they-still-married/503059/20 "2009-07-16T18:25:27Z")
A marriage is a legal binding contract. You do not wave it away. you have to go to court to end it. Of course a sex change is a pretty strong argument to end it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-couple-is-married-and-one-of-them-gets-a-sex-change-are-they-still-married/503059.md?page=2)