Gender by Default

Not so long ago here in Cyrsti's Condo, we covered the topic of changing your gender markers.  If you didn't know, gender markers are those all important letters "M" or "F" in your legal existence.

Some documents pack a huge impact (such as social security, driver's license, etc.), others, not so much-or do they?

I began to think about it the other day and here is why:  I applied for one of the gas/convenience store discount cards which are so prevalent and popular in my part of the world.  Essentially the more you spend with them, the less you pay for their gas.

For years I have had a card with a well established gas chain in my hometown under my male name, a couple days ago I applied for another chain's card under my female name.  The gender box of course defaulted me to male or female.  To be clear, these cards are not credit or debit cards of any sort, but these days you know all your info sooner or later is going into big data bases.  I have never doubted Big Brother is watching and if I really had anything to hide, I wouldn't be out here writing a blog.

I just wonder if some day I will be cross referenced by address, age and gender on one of these lower level cards and bounced.  It won't happen I know because all these companies want is my money and all the gender markers which really matter are cross referenced by social security numbers.

It's just my little conspiracy theory but I wonder if sometime in the future, more than a couple of my old male gender markers will make a surprise return to my life.

I know at least two visitors to "theCondo" (Shelle and Drake) who have started down the gender marker trail but as of yet, I haven't. Actually, I see the process as important to me as starting HRT. Obviously, the process separates me further from my male past.  I can rationalize not beginning the process on laziness but my deadlines to sign up for Medicare are rapidly approaching this year and obviously if I can register female then I would save myself headaches later.  Plus, I will have to read up (and get some advice) from a few of my Veteran's Administration friends to get an idea of what I have to do to get my markers changed with the VA as it interfaces with Medicare.

Fortunately, I'm not totally clueless about the strides that have been made with changing gender markers.  It seems on occasion, every time you can cross one huge MtF transition threshold-you are looking square at another.