Continental promo
|| Home > Commentary  ||
< Back Comments (0)Post a Comment Bookmark and Share   Page: 1 | 2
 

Forced out: A real ID problem for trans people

Changing one’s name and gender marker privately can be tricky if you're transgender, and a new law designed to thwart terrorists is about to make it a lot trickier. Part 10 in The Advocate’s ongoing Transgender 101 series
An Advocate.com exclusive posted August 29, 2006
Forced out: A real ID problem for trans people

I started work with a new employer right after transitioning to live as a female in 2002. My previous employer had made it clear that they were not going to accept my gender transition.

It was also the start of my one-year “real life experience” of living in my true gender. RLE, as it's called, is one step in the guidelines for gender transition set by medical professionals. It's intended to serve as a sort of trial one must pass before receiving the medical letter of approval required for sex reassignment surgery. With management at my new job fully aware of the “old” (male) me, I figured my transgender status might never be an issue.

I quickly filled out the Blue Cross application, excited about the prospect of having health insurance in my new name for the first time. Yet my excitement quickly faded a few days later when Blue Cross called me. "Ms. Herman, there is a person with the same last name in our database who has a male first name. Do you know this person?"

Argh. I had to tell them the truth—I had had Blue Cross coverage as my prior self. "Well, Ms. Herman, we can't code you as female in our system until you've had 'the surgery.'" I tried to explain the hardship that having an m on my HMO card would present. I would have to out myself to every doctor’s billing office, explaining that they would need to code me as male in their systems to be sure that their health claims for me were processed.

The representative went off to confer with her underwriting department and then called back. "Sorry, we must code you as male until surgery. And by the way, just a reminder, your surgery will not be covered by insurance." Insult to injury.

Page: 1 | 2
Herman is the first transgender member of the boards of The Point Foundation, a scholarship lifeline for LGBT students, and of Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, the New England LGBT legal rights organization that filed and argued the court case that brought same-sex marriage to Massachusetts. She is also a member of the advisory board of the National Center for Transgender Equality.
From the archives of The Advocate and Advocate.com

Reader Comments

These comments are reproduced as written by visitors to this Web site. They have not been edited for content, grammar, or spelling. The viewpoints appearing here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or views of advocate.com, The Advocate, or its affiliates.

Be the first to comment on this story.

Back to top

Submit a comment for this story:

*Type your comment here (Required, 1000 characters max. HTML formatting and hyperlinks are NOT permitted.):

*Name (Required): 

*Hometown (Required): 

*E-mail address: (Required, but will not be displayed)

Is this comment for publication? 
Yes   No

Daytime phone number: (Required for print publication only and will not be displayed)

Please enter the words you see in the box, in order and separated by a space. Doing so helps prevent automated programs from abusing this service.

  

If you would like to submit a comment for posting, please fill out the form above. 

All comments submitted via this form are subject to posting or publication. (To send a private letter to an Advocate editor or writer, please use the e-mail button at the top of the page, or use snail mail.) If you would like your comment considered for publication in The Advocate magazine, please include your full name, your city of residence, and a phone number where you can be reached during business hours so that we can confirm your identity. Your e-mail address and telephone number are strictly confidential and will not be shared or used for any purpose other than to contact you about your comment.

See the Contact page for sending comments for reasons other than responding to Advocate editorial and news stories.

Please note that comments sent by fax or snail mail are unlikely to be posted, although they will be considered for publication along with all letters received via e-mail or via this Web page. Comments that chiefly concern Advocate.com content will be considered for posting only on the Web site. The Advocate reserves the right to edit submitted comments for grammar, spelling, obscenities, or libel; we will, however, do our best to preserve the original comment's style and intent. Comments considered for publication in The Advocate magazine may also be edited for length.

More Exclusives
  • View From the Hill: The End of DADT?
    Defense Secretary Robert Gates revealed that lawyers are exploring ways to ease enforcement of the military's gay ban, but cautioned that the law doesn't leave much wiggle room. He need look no further than DOD history for a lesson in altering the policy.
  • Hot Sheet: Week of July 5
    When you get back from that big 4th of July barbecue, unwind with Sacha Baron Cohen's Bruno and your favorite B-movie-mocking, basic cable robots.
  • Hungry Like the Wolf
    A master of viola, ukulele, piano, and harp, Patrick Wolf is a music prodigy -- one who, the night before this interview, spit on a cop and got himself arrested.
  • Soapside: Advocate's Guide to Daytime
    Forbes March talks about playing gay, Otalia fans outraged, update on One Life to Live’s Patricia Maurceri’s firing over gay plot point, Phillip Chancellor III big reveal, and Erica Kane goes to Africa.
  • The Faces of Federal Prop. 8
    With the federal challenge to Prop. 8 moving full speed ahead, Advocate.com sits down with the two couples named as plaintiffs in the suit.
  • Mommy, the Gays Are Coming
    After a year of advancements and celebration for gay and lesbian Colombians, the community takes to the streets of Bogota for the country's biggest pride ever.
  • The Pride of Antwerp
    Advocate.com hits the gay-friendly streets of Antwerp with openly gay police commissioner Serge Muyters.
  • Excerpt: Mean Little Deaf Queer
    In an excerpt from her humorous and harrowing new memoir, Mean Little Deaf Queer, Terry Galloway recalls her early childhood, describing feelings of ugliness, confusion about gender, and being one of the boys.
  • Top Political Blogs
    From Joe.My.God to The Daily Beast, Advocate.com spotlights a few of the best blogs that cover politics, inside and way outside the Beltway.
  • The Diva of French Television
    A hot young screenwriter who has made gay OK for millions of French viewers, Nicolas Mercier sips champagne, dons a feathered hat, and says he wants to see Colin Farrell and Jude Law go at it.