Nothing directly to do with being trans but yesterday I went back to the police station in Milan where the smiley cops work and, after rummaging around for a bit, they handed me this.
It's what I've been working towards for six years. Yes, six years. This passport is now way more powerful than the British one I used to have. It gives visa-free access to more places, affords more protections and is welcome without trouble. Unlike British passports that are less accepted and more troublesome after Britain's self-imposed exile from the European Union and because of its aggressive foreign policy. The same applies to US passports, folks: they're not as welcome.
I can't work and play without this.
One day I may be able to get the sex marker changed to F or simply X, but it'll do for now. I'm not properly full-time female after all. Mind you, I'm certainly not full-time male either. Which does suggest such markers have little realistic value.
Six years of bureaucratic delays are not acceptable, though, even when Covid is taken into account.
Fun
I've had a good few days, too, seeing a sister of mine after three years, enjoying beautiful Alpine scenery, revelling in sunshine and swimming... but I'll save that for the next post.
Sue x
Ah, the benefits of a proper passport and the ease of free movement between European countries. Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Lynn. Ease of movement is vital to me, but more important to me is set of rights, human and legal, that this document represents. Sue x
DeleteSadly, the EU responded rationally when USA political issues affected Europeans visiting the USA So Europe retaliated in kind. Right now, it's only a minor inconvenience for EU and USA citizens on each other's continents. Hopefully, both sides will be interested in rolling back the offending regulations and permit rules soon.....
ReplyDeleteThanks, Marian. I always hope for political and diplomatic detente. It's always ordinary citizens who get the most affected by these tit-for-tat measures. Thankfully, it's not too serious in this case. Sue x
Delete<< I'm not properly full-time female after all. >>
ReplyDeleteYou're you, and that's perfectly acceptable. Not being full time shouldn't be the determining factor as to how deserving a person is.
xoxoxo
Christine
Thank you :-) I hope that identifying markers like this become a minor formality. After all, my passport states my hair colour and eye colour but it's so easy to change both these days that the identifying feature is actually meaningless! I'd like to be identified as female, it's been my lifelong wish, but failing that, just get rid of a sex/gender marker for everyone. Sue x
DeleteAt last! Good for you, Sue. I think Irish citizenship and passport took me less than a year - it's like having a 'get out of jail free' card ... needed more than ever in England now.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Nikki. So glad you got an alternative passport, too. I was told the Irish were slow in these things but they are nothing like as slow as the Italians. Sue x
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