Opinion: Baja California's new gender identity law didn't pass easily. It took years of struggle. - The San Diego Union-Tribune
What we have achieved in recent years in Baja California has come with a great advance in thinking for congressional leaders.
Fernández is a social activist, public official and trans woman who lobbied for legislative reform of gender identity recognition. She lives in Ensenada.
The state Congress of Baja California approved a new gender identity law in Mexico on Jan. 27, allowing the recognition of self-perceived gender identity with the modification of a person’s birth certificate.
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For those of us who live on both sides of the border with the United States, we are well aware of the problem of undocumented people, but what does it mean to be transgender, to live trans in your own land, in your own country?
Imagine the ID issued by the authorities of your country does not represent you, that it does not represent the social name with which you are known in your neighborhood, by which your friends and family call you, and in addition, that your physical appearance is not represented by the picture of your ID, that of a man, while your daily life is that of a woman.
Imagine now that you are going to apply for a job, fill out the application with your social name and gender and when you show your ID, another person appears with another gender.
It’s easy to figure what’s next: You won’t get the job.
Imagine you finish university, and your degree title is issued with the name of a person that was left in the past years ago, perhaps in your teenage years. The scarce job opportunities begin getting even scarcer, for the simple reason you were called José by birth instead of María.
Such labor limitations due to a lack of identity documents with a self-perceived gender pushes trans people to precariousness, occasional jobs with little pay, and null professional development. Most of this population is in a state of economic vulnerability and can end up easily hooked by drug cartels and sex work, turning them into victims of social stigma in the eyes of a scrutinizing society.
It is important to make visible the existence of the entire trans community — trans men, nonbinary people, professionals, civil workers, researchers, students, and others in a long, long etc.
My son, a trans communicator and journalist, highlights the importance of making visible the broader trans population that tries to lead a public life and is usually forgotten by or omitted in the media — who, despite the significant challenge of being and living trans, have managed to transgress the social and cultural barriers.
We cannot turn a blind eye on Mexico becoming the second deadliest country in the world for transgender people. Nor to the fact that most trans women who are killed are less than 35 years old. Or that more than half of the homicides committed against the LGBT+ community in Mexico in recent years are against trans people.
Even with the new gender identity law in Baja California, there are still barriers to overcome: cultural and religious barriers that only admit the male-female binarism model, training of public officials and general workers, creation of care protocols for trans people and in general for the LGBT+ community, and the creation and recognition of safe, gay-friendly spaces. The achievement of the gender identity law has not had an easy path. It has been years of struggle. We must remember that trans women activists have lost their lives in social activism. This advance in human rights should also be seen as a heartfelt tribute to those who preceded this fight and are no longer among us to celebrate the victory.
What we have achieved in recent years in Baja California has come with a great advance in thinking for congressional leaders, who approved same-sex marriage last year by removing an amendment from the state constitution that banned it. Now the vast majority of them empathize with the human rights of LGBT+ people.
source: https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/opinion/commentary/story/2022-02-22/gender-identity-baja-california-transgender-men-women
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