Public health research confirms what we already knew in our guts. Legal affirmation of gender identity
increases the mental health and wellbeing of trans people. The Lancet, a public health journal, in 2020
printed several articles documenting how getting gender congruent legal documents, that is IDs that
match expressed gender identity, affect the health of transgender individuals. The results showed that
those individuals who were able to obtain gender congruent IDs had a remarkably lower rate of severe
psychological distress and suicidal ideation.
As IDs are required for many aspects of daily life, not having gender congruent ID documents are a
structural determinant of health. Presenting gender incongruent documents may result in distress
because of a fear of discrimination, intimidation, and even violence. Some people with gender
incongruent documents even avoid medical care because of their fear of discrimination. Having IDs that
match a person’s chosen name and expressed gender, on the other hand, is a social affirmation that
allows a person to access services and everyday transactions that require showing IDS without these
fears.
Changing one's name and gender markers is a multi-step process that first requires a legal name change. If
you want help with a legal name change and/or gender marker, please contact us at legalservices@lavenderlegal.org.
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