Seriously though, are there any countries that recognize a sex-change operation to the extent that the person’s gender is legally changed?
If so, does it affect any of the following:
I actually know a man - uh, woman - who had a sex change operation. He (she) was my boss for several years. I’m afraid I can’t answer any of your questions, but may I add another to your list?
What is the proper use of pronouns when discussing these folks. I suppose that when talking in the present tense you should use pronouns suitable for their current gender, but what about when talking about their past?
Yes, but unfortunately, his boss immediately starts paying him only 59% of his previous salary, so it’s a net financial loss.
That’s a damn interesting question!
On sort of a related note, I once saw a show about an English man who had a sex change and was now a woman. In fact, she was now a swimsuit model. In fact, that is what caused me to stop on the show while channel surfing. It showed some photos of her in a bikini and I had to see who it was.
Anywho, the host of the show asked her about her legal status and she said she is still “officially” a man in the goverment’s eyes. In fact, if convicted of a crime, she would have to do time in a men’s prison!
This of course may have changed by now (this show was several years ago) and no doubt varies from place to place. For insurance, I would bet that it stays the same. Of course, this person could change companies and get the women’s rate.
Similar to 1) but different
4) What if the person is already married?
Marriage
I guess this will vary from place to place, but in England there is a case (which would, I imagine, be a persuasive authority in many other countries) to the effect that a male-to-female sex change subject was still biologically, chromosomally, genetically and what have you a male, and so could not validly marry another male (and presumably could marry a female). The case is Ashley -v- Ashley, IIRC, but I don’t have a cite.
I don’t think a sex change would, of itself, terminate a valid marriage. But it might be grounds for divorce!
Categorisation for Insurance Purposes
This is not a question of law but of insurance practice. I don’t know whether by now there is enough experience of sex changes to know whether (say) a male-to-female sex change subject could expect longevity closer to female norms than to male. My guess would be not. Genetics plays a big factor in determining longevity, and a sex-change subject is genetically unaltered.
Of course, if (say) a male-to-female sex-change subject advised the insurance company of her current sex, and not of the fact of the prior sex change, she would presumably get female rates. Arguably, though, the insurer would have good grounds for avoiding the policy on the grounds of non-disclosure of a material fact.
Categorization on IDs
Presumably this varies with administrative practice from place to place. I imagine a birth cert will show sex at birth (unless there is a law in place providing for this to be altered following a sex change) and any ID which is based on the birth cert will do likewise. However administrative agencies may have a policy of accepting a sex-change. I believe, for instance, that the UK Department of Social Security will treat somebody as a person of the sex which they have following a sex-change operation. I don’t know what the story is as regards passports.
The USA has legal procedures for changing which gender box is checked on forms. Even then, specifics vary from state to state.
Re prison- I don’t know if it’s been corrected, but England placed post-ops in facilities based strictly on the gender on their birth certificate.
I remember reading somewhere that for the “Selective Service” (ie, the draft) system, you were considered whatever gender you were born as. I’d suspect that in many cases, this would be the same, if only to nip in the bud any weird scenarios involving sex changes purely to save money (or avoid being drafted).
Pretty drastic measure to lower car insurance by giving up your stick shift - but technically, you have a good point. I believe some states do allow you to offically change your driver’s license sex status, in which case you should be entitled to any financial benefits.
Do women really pay less than men? I wasn’t aware of that.
The Supreme Court of Kansas recently ruled against a transgendered woman (meaning MtoF) who had claimed her deceased husband’s estate. It was the deceased’s second marriage, and his son sought to prohibit her from inheriting. (The husband died without a will, so the wife’s claim depended on having a valid marriage.)
The wife had successfully changed her gender on her Wisconsin birth certificate when she’d completed the transitioning (I believe this was well before she’d even met her husband), but Kansas didn’t recognize that change. And Kansas expressly limits marriage to “a man” and “a woman.” The court, basing its decision on a Webster’s dictionary, in essence declared that “man” and “woman” mean “born male” and “born female.” So the the marriage was invalid and the estate went to the son.
Reporting on the case, the Wall Street Journal cites an unnamed Kansas judge - one who didn’t hear the case or its appeal - as saying to the lawyer for the deceased’s son, “The law’s on your side, but history’s on her side.”
In the US, you can get a new birth certificate with your gender changed so for all purposes of ID, you’ll only be known as your current gender.
bnorton, to answer your question, if you want to be polite, always use the pronouns that reflect the gender that person identifies as. When speaking of their past some prefer you still use pronouns referring to their current gender but that’s not as hard a rule. You’d probably best just ask them or follow their lead. I know at least one person who says her memories changed so that events in her past were only remembered as if they occurred to her in her present gender. Thus, she only refers to herself as female regardless of tense.
I believe a sex change operation is grounds for divorce in most, if not all, states in the US.
jk1245, that show sounds like it was about Caroline Cossey aka Tula, a former James Bond girl.
I can’t answer any of the other questions, but in New York, if you’re imprisoned you’ll be sent to a prison that’s appropriate for whatever physical gender you currently have. I know of at least one prisoner who did a prison sentence in a man’s prison, had a sex change while out, convicted another crime, and did another sentence in a woman’s prison.
Sorry, that should have been “committed another crime”.
Marriage: In the United States, don’t count on it. No state has affirmatively upheld the right of a post-operative transsexual to marry members of either sex, although New Jersey has come close. At least two states (Texas and Kansas) have held that post-operative transsexuals have no right to marry members of the sex opposite their current sex and have nullified such marriages on the request of third parties (in Texas, on the request of an insurance company representing an incompetent doctor, in Kansas by a disaffected heir).
Insurance: In general, if and when the post-operative transsexual obtains a legal “change of sex” order, the insurance company will give them the benefit of the lower rate (for male to female) or the disadvantage of the higher rate (for female to male). However, in some states, last I heard (Oregon and Ohio come to mind), legal orders for change of sex are not available. In most others an attestation from the surgeon is required (and this is also the procedure followed by the Social Security Administration). As to life expectancy, male-to-female transsexuals who have had surgery live longer than unaltered men (not surprising, as it’s well-known that eunuchs tend to outlive intact men) and in fact may (not clear statistically) outlive natural born women as well – if you factor out suicide, homicide, and sexually transmitted disease as causes of death. This may be in part because being successfully post-operative pretty much guarantees that you’re not poor, and income is one of the strongest predictors of lifespan in the United States today.
Driver’s license: In most states this follows the same rules as change-of-sex orders. However in some states (notably California) the license will reflect your appearance and not your genitals, on the highly reasonable theory that because the information on the license is supposed to assist with identification, a declaration of what you look like (which a police officer is likely to see) and not what you have between your legs (which a police officer is unlikely to see) is of greater value.
Pronouns: A post-transition transsexual should be referred to by the terms appropriate to the gender he or she presents himself or herself with. There is no clear answer as to what terms to use to refer to a post-transition transsexual’s life prior to transition. Do keep in mind that transsexuals are subject to a great deal of discrimination, and you should probably not talk about a transsexual’s pretransition life without talking to him or her about it first. There’s a good chance he or she would prefer that such discussions be avoided. This is also a good chance to get advice from the person in question.
Prior marriage: A sexual reassignment operation does not dissolve a marriage. “There is no surgery that can amputate a spouse.” Of course, sexual reassignment is grounds for divorce in those few states left that require grounds more detailed than “irreconcilable differences”.
The draft: Any individual who has transitioned from male to female is virtually assured of being found unfit to serve.
Birth certificates: Not all states will change the birth certificate. Some states do not list sex on the birth certificate. Some list sex but will change it. Some list sex, but refuse to change it. There is no consistency here.
Prison: Current law requires (federal court rulings) that transsexuals be housed with the population of their current physical sex. The law also requires that the prison continue any prescribed hormones that the individual may have been receiving prior to incarceration, but does not require that the prison fund any further procedures toward reassignment.
In general, the law treats transsexuals as though they were a member of whichever gender is least convenient to the transsexual at the present moment. For example, if a preoperative male-to-female transsexual enters a woman’s restroom, she runs a considerable risk of being arrested because she’s “male”. On the other hand, if she walks topless down the street, she runs a considerable risk of being arrested because she’s “female”. The law is less unfair for post-operative transsexuals, but there are still glaring inconsistencies.
Government should be gender-blind. There is no reason for legal distinctions between the sexes, except to the extent that there absolutely has to be a legal distinction because some people have wombs, and others do not. (Note that the government, and society in general, currently makes this distinction far more often than it needs to.)