If Someone is Transitioning, Why is it Important to Change Their Gender on Their Birth Certificate?

This is an interesting question. And it’s one I've never gotten before. Most of the questions I get about documentation are around timing of changing things during transition. And about the legal challenges that may exist in getting that done.

A birth certificate is not just a record of what we know about someone when they were born. It's also a document that's going to carry forward in our lives in so many ways. Think about the number of times you've had to use your birth certificate to prove that you are who you say you are. Birth certificates can be important for getting a passport, and for getting a driver’s license. You’ll also need one for getting married, registering for school, and so many other things.

If a person identifies as a different sex than what was on their birth certificate, it can cause a problem.

Think about it, have you ever tried to get something done with any large agency? Like a government office, or at school. Maybe HR at work, or health insurance.

Paperwork can be long and tedious to begin with, but did you ever have a situation where the paperwork was inconsistent? Like someone somewhere had entered your address wrong? Or spelled your name wrong? Or flipped two digits when putting in your social security number? Remember how long it took to get that straightened out? Now imagine the hassle of doing that every single time you have to deal with paperwork.

But it’s just not about making someone’s life easier when it comes to paperwork. It’s also about their safety.

If a person’s gender does not match their sex assigned at birth, and they are required to show a birth certificate that has something different, they are essentially going to be outed. This can not only make that person feel less safe, but it can also lead to discrimination and harassment. Especially if it happens at work.

It's also important for someone who is transitioning to feel that they truly are their gender in every way. It’s important for their sense of self. And it can be validating for them when all of their documents show what their gender is now. Not the sex that was checked off on a birth certificate years ago.

It's also important to point out that people change their birth certificate for a lot of reasons. Sometimes there was a typo, and a name is spelled wrong. Sometimes information is inaccurate, like location or time of day. People can also change who is listed as their birth parent, especially in cases of adoption.

Birth certificates are documents that are filled out by humans, and humans make mistakes. So while a birth certificate is a record of the birth at the time, if it's no longer accurate, for whatever reason, why shouldn’t people update it?

Until next time, be safe, and have fun!

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