We’re in the early stages of a quantum shift in understanding the range of gender identity. That’s what Kris Wells says in response to the news that nearly 300 people have officially changed the gender indication on their birth certificates in the last two years.
“We’re recognizing that society is perhaps a lot more diverse than people have traditionally thought. In particular, I think what we’re seeing is the understanding that gender isn’t on a binary but more on a spectrum and there are multiple ways in which people identify,” the University of Alberta professor and faculty director for the Institute for Sexual Minority Studies and Services began, remarking on how important it is for government identification and other legal and official documents to reflect that.
“That tells individuals that they exist, and that they matter. That their identities have value in society.”
It was in April 2014 when an Alberta judge struck down sections of the Vital Statistics Act that required that required proof of sex change surgery before a transgender person would be allowed to change the gender on their birth certificate.
Now, the applicant must submit a statement that confirms which gender the person identifies with in order to obtain an amendment to the sex on their birth record. This must accompany a letter from a physician or psychologist attesting that fact. Minors can also obtain a legal change of gender but it requires the parents’ or guardians’ consent.
For Aberdeen Hill, the number seems surprisingly low.
“I know at least 100 people that are in the process of trying to do it. I realize now that I had done it pretty early. When I changed it, I was a minor so I had to go through a lot more of a process,” he said.
Hill was 17 when he had his gender reassignment surgery early last year. He said that getting his birth certificate changed was almost as complicated as the operation itself, but no less important.
“You have to get confirmation from a gender psychiatrist, you have to go through getting your fingerprints. And the cost is really expensive. I think it’s about $1,000 altogether to get my name and gender legally changed which is something that not a lot of people can afford.”
He also decried the entire process of having to mail your documents to Ottawa and then having to wait to see if your application gets mailed back as ‘pass’ or ‘fail.’ He failed one of his first applications because the document wasn’t filled out correctly.
“It’s basically a whole booklet that you have to fill out. There are even sections based on your age and circumstance. It’s kind of the same model as filling out getting your name changed if you got married, but (for) the sex change part you have to get letters. It’s because they don’t have any federally consistent application process.”
Fortunately, he was underage so the onus was all on his parents to manage the process, which required him to get two revised birth certificates as he changed his gender designation and his name at separate times.
He feels especially fortunate to have his new birth certificate, especially considering he’s one of less than 300 people in the province to have done so. He said it has made his life immeasurably better especially in school and work situations.
Wells expects that this number is going to jump higher and faster, now that pioneers like Hill have broken through the barrier. He suggests that everything should proceed more smoothly from now on.
“As we start to remove the barriers and make it easier for individuals to have their identification changed, I think we’re going to see more people pick up that opportunity,” he hinted.
“There still are barriers. There still are prohibitive costs. We’ve seen that the options aren’t quite right yet. We still see governments across the world struggling to be more inclusive but wondering how to go about doing that. I think in particular a big conversation that has come up is ‘is gender still a relevant category… or not?’”
