ruffboijuliaburnsides:

alyss-cant-sleep:

Story time:

I legally changed my name about two years ago. This then began the delightful process of updating my name in the system of every government agency, bank, and rewards program I had ever interacted with. Even two years out, I still run into places that have my deadname on them, or the nickname I used to go by.

Now this nickname is plausibly gender neutral, and is a possible shortening of my real, legal, chosen name.

There’s this one company that had my old nickname on it that was a real pain in the butt to change. Instead of an online form, I had to call, get kicked around an automated system for a while, and then talked to a person who told me to send an email, with all my documentation: old id, new id, name change court order. So I did, and nothing came of it. I gave up, cause it’s not like the nickname is *that* bad, and I let it lie for a few months.

Tonight I decided to try again, but I figured I’d take a new tactic. Instead of saying “I’ve changed my name” I said “It’s currently a nickname, I’d like it to be my full legal name.”

She changed it on the spot.

So yeah, I’m mad as hell right now. I’ve seen a lot of discourse about how nicknames are treated more seriously than trans people’s names, but it was still super jarring to have direct evidence of that thrown in my face.

ugh that’s bullshit.