Help with Name Change (Trans*)
Hi. So my name is Aleksei, I'm a twenty-something Transmale (Female to Male Transgender), and I need a name change to get further in life. You see: I've been on hormone therapy for close to a year now. I have changed as one would expect in that year. I have changed so much that it is impossible to hide my transition. Not that I have any desire to hide my transition, but this does present a very obvious problem for me: I have a feminine name. It gives me away instantly as if I had a huge sign declaring my Transsexuality.
In addition, I don't live in the most Trans* friendly place. Excluding the lack of anti-discrimination laws and few supportive organizations, the cost of a name change is around the $550 mark. To break that down further: $150 is the initial filing fee, $25 goes to the required Background check, another $25 goes for the fingerprints, Sexual Offender Registry check and a piece of paper by the Department of Social Services declaring me uninvolved in any Child Neglect case files, and $350 for an attorney I would need to hire if I wanted to get anywhere in my request. I've been informed by multiple sources that while an attorney isn't required by the courts, I would want to hire one if I didn't want a run-around since the forms must be filed precisely and the name change petition must be written in the specific format. In other words, my area makes it incredibly difficult for Trans* folk to get their name changed without forking out a good sum of money in the process.
The thing is: I cannot afford a name change whatsoever. I cannot afford half of a name change. I have been unsuccessful at finding work since my transition became more noticeable, yet I need a job to make the money in order to pay for a name change. It's an endless washing cycle of I cannot get anywhere. Nor is it possible for me to ask my parents to aid in financials. The exact details are not important to this, but one is not accepting to my identity and the other has no excess funds to help. And if that wasn't enough, I need to attend college later this year if I want my health insurance to be extended another two years. In a way, attending college is essential to both my physical and mental health, as my insurance is my only access at the moment to affordable hormone therapy and it covers me for all my chronic medical conditions. However, at the same time, attending college will be difficult as a male with a women's name. Especially if you consider the fact that the college is a local one "” to get my foot in the figurative educational door to higher education. If I were able to get my change of name, I would be able to attend college without worrying about being outed by name, and I would have an easier time at finding work without being eliminated at first glance. It would tremendously help with my dysphoria.
Onto the bad part: I don't really have anything to offer in return: I cannot draw worth a commission, I cannot write worth a commission; I am not artistically inclined. I am essentially asking for donations. Due to this, honestly, I am not expecting to get anything. Since I have nothing to give, Equal Exchange and all that.
