According to Pew Research, 1.6% of young adults in the United States are transgender or nonbinary. This often leads to name changes. The reason many of them change their name is to ensure a more comfortable identity. They do this by choosing a name that better matches how they present themselves. Depending on their gender identity and how they would like to express that, they may choose a more feminine, masculine, or gender-neutral name.
The name changes don’t stop at adults. People of all ages find it important to change their name to fit their identity. HB 1608 is a law that was recently passed ensuring that teachers have to report any name changes to the superiors in the school. Following the report, the school must send a letter to the home of the student in question.
“Due to the name law being passed, I can’t use my preferred name in any of my classrooms,” an anonymous transgender student said. This student chooses to stay anonymous for safety reasons. “Even in classes where most people already use my preferred name, I can’t tell my teachers to use it.”
Some students feel like they don’t have a safe place other than their friends. Often, students have to use their outside sources to have validation due to some homes not being LGBTQ+ friendly.
“Honestly, school is the only place where some people feel safe,” Phoenix Cripe said. “I’m lucky because my mom already knew I chose a different name. A lot of kids come here and have their friends and teachers call them the right name since their parents won’t. This law just took a lot of people’s safe spaces away.”
The law is leaving students with emotions they are struggling to express.
“It doesn’t feel good,” an anonymous genderfluid student said. They have also chosen to stay anonymous for safety reasons. “You have a name that you’re comfortable with, and you like people using. It feels like you. That’s a choice being taken away from you, and you have to use something that doesn’t suit you or make you comfortable. It makes you more at odds with yourself.”
Not only is this hurting people in the transgender community, but it is also affecting students who want to use nicknames. Even if it is a shortened version of their own name, a letter has to be sent home to parents expressing the use of a different name.
“I didn’t get affected a whole lot,” senior Jake Fincher said. “The only thing that really changed was that my mom got a letter in the mail, which was a little weird. I don’t think it’s a big deal. I mean Jake and Jacob, you can guess that Jacob’s my name. Assuming I go by Jake is a fair assumption, so I just think it’s silly.”
As a community, everyone is affected in one way or another. Now, it is in the hands of the schools, students and communities to respond.
“This law is a complete step in the wrong direction,” the anonymous transgender student said. “Over the past decade, we have headed towards becoming a more trans-friendly society, but laws like these are going to continue to set us back.”
