Order of Things
Hello all, long time no post.
I have a quick question that might be a little more subjective than anything else, so I'd like some input. Basically I've been on T for a little over 2 years, and would now like to take steps to get my legal name change done, and top surgery taken care of as well. The problem is, I feel like I'm at a bit of an impasse.
Years ago when I was seeing my therapist, she told me that it might be easiest to get a name change initially (based on common usage and not gender transition), get top surgery, and then go back to court to get the gender marker changed. The alternative of course would be to get top surgery first, then change both my legal name and gender marker at the same time.
But frankly I get anxiety thinking of going through either route, just because of the gate-keeping nature of everything and my own paranoia that somehow or another someone will decide I'm not suitably "trans* enough" to do either. If I haven't had surgery yet and attempt to get my name and gender marker changed simultaneously, would the judge decide that doesn't make me transgender? If I haven't changed my name legally yet (and frankly am not yet going by anything permanent other than a male nickname irl), would the surgeon refuse me for not being "really" transgender?
To clarify, I went through all the therapist hoops to get on T in the first place (and I'm in California, if that's relevant), but I just feel stuck in this loop of anxiety and was hoping maybe some people who've been through this could give me some more up-to-date advice. I'm now hearing in California it's not necessary to have surgery for legal changes? How well does that actually work out in practice? I'd welcome any advice, Californian's advice especially. Thank you.
I have a quick question that might be a little more subjective than anything else, so I'd like some input. Basically I've been on T for a little over 2 years, and would now like to take steps to get my legal name change done, and top surgery taken care of as well. The problem is, I feel like I'm at a bit of an impasse.
Years ago when I was seeing my therapist, she told me that it might be easiest to get a name change initially (based on common usage and not gender transition), get top surgery, and then go back to court to get the gender marker changed. The alternative of course would be to get top surgery first, then change both my legal name and gender marker at the same time.
But frankly I get anxiety thinking of going through either route, just because of the gate-keeping nature of everything and my own paranoia that somehow or another someone will decide I'm not suitably "trans* enough" to do either. If I haven't had surgery yet and attempt to get my name and gender marker changed simultaneously, would the judge decide that doesn't make me transgender? If I haven't changed my name legally yet (and frankly am not yet going by anything permanent other than a male nickname irl), would the surgeon refuse me for not being "really" transgender?
To clarify, I went through all the therapist hoops to get on T in the first place (and I'm in California, if that's relevant), but I just feel stuck in this loop of anxiety and was hoping maybe some people who've been through this could give me some more up-to-date advice. I'm now hearing in California it's not necessary to have surgery for legal changes? How well does that actually work out in practice? I'd welcome any advice, Californian's advice especially. Thank you.