On May 14, I arrived at the Federal Building with my new driver’s license, a notarized copy of the court order for my name change, and my surgeon’s letter. Just in case, I also had brought my original birth certificate and my old social security card. I waited about 20 minutes in the Social Security Administration office, before an older man took me back to his cubicle.
When I said I needed to correct the name and gender on my records, he said “Dare I ask why?” I was very nervous that he would keep me from changing my records. While he was typing in my new information, he asked me personal questions about my transition. I think he noticed that I was uncomfortable, so he assured me that he was asking out of personal curiosity, rather than as an employee of the SSA. I relaxed a bit, and he told me all about that Discovery Health documentary about intersex folks, and his neighbor with prostate cancer that’s on estrogen therapy, and about how brave I am for doing what I’m doing.
Twenty minutes later, he wished me luck, and I left the building. A paper in my new name assured me that my new social security card would arrive within two weeks, and instructed me to destroy the old one upon receipt of the new one.