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Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Coming Out and ‘Real’ Names

I need to be more out that I am Gender Queer and Pansexual. Some people now and I don’t exactly hide it but neither am I ‘Out And Proud’. So let’s do a little coming out here shall we?

The name on my California Drivers License is Barry Scott Routh, that is also my legal name such as it is. The name I claim as my own is Natasha Yar-Routh and someday I hope to have THAT on my driver’s license.

I haven’t done a lot of transitioning because of my home situation and my mother. Those are the primary reasons I still use my old name. My situation with Lyne is complex but with my mother I’m worried of the impact on a 91-year-old woman of her son suddenly becoming her daughter. More to the truth I afraid of the consequences with Lyne and my mother.

On the other hand I’m coming out to my congressman, I have signed up to lobby him for the passage of a inclusive ENDA with United ENDA . I plan to be totally open with who and what I am.

It’s a slow process but I refuse to lie if asked about myself, I’m Natasha Yar-Routh, a Gender Queer Trans-woman.

2 comments:

J. Kyber said...

I realize this probably doesn't mean very much coming from a stranger, but when I discovered your blog after googling "genderqueer" and started reading it, I came to realize that there are others who face a similar struggle to myself. I personally identify as a genderqueer individual, and as difficult as it has been coming out (I thought coming out as gay was difficult!), it has given me strength and hope reading your blog for the past few months, and I thank you for that.

Emma Brown said...

Natasha, I've just started reading your blog, and I am glad to have found another genderqueer trans person in California who blogs. Thank you for putting yourself out there, despite your fear of being discovered closer to home. I recently came out to my entire family, including my soon-to-be 90-year-old grandmother, and they all accepted me and told me I'll always be family, even if they don't all agree with what I'm doing. People may surprise you, even those you think will hate you. I'm not suggesting you compromise your stability, but people can sometimes be a lot more resilient than we give them credit for.

If you'd like to chat more, drop me a line. I live in the SF Bay Area and am always interested in finding more genderqueer persons to network with. :)