Transgender issues with money
While the fundamentals of money are the same for all of us, the experiences, risks and concerns with queer money are different than those with straight money. Within the LGBTQ community, the level of difficulty varies, including transgender issues with money.
Queer and transgender issues with money collide
Our experiences as cis white gay men differ from those of transgender people, who may find it difficult to even open a bank account because they often don’t look like the picture on their driver’s license. So what can we learn from listening to their stories?
Femme Frugality’s Brynne Conroy returns to Queer Money™ to talk about her bestselling book. The Feminist Financial Handbook: A Modern Woman’s Guide to a Wealthy Life. One of the women featured in Brynne’s book is Nicole Lynn Perry, a transgender veteran and rainbow community advocate based in Seattle.
Brynne and Nicole discuss with us The Feminist Financial Handbook. Brynne explains what fascinated her about Nicole’s story and why she included it in her book. Nicole shares her background in the US Marine Corps before transitioning and eventually becoming an activist for the queer community in general and transgender soldiers in particular.
Nicole explains what life is like for a transgender person in the US, describes the challenges that come with changing your name and gender marker, and the difference in quality of life depending on where you live in the US
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Covered topics related to transgender issues with money
Brynne’s book, The Feminist Financial Handbook
- Looks at money from an intersectional feminist perspective
- Offer workarounds and advocate for cultural change
The definitions of heteronormativity and cisnormativity
- A harmful assumption that everyone is born heterosexual
- The system disenfranchises those who are not cisgender/heterosexual
Why Brynne included Nicole’s story in her book
- Impressed by resilience and willingness to speak up
Nicole’s background and experience
- Served in the US Marine Corps from 2008 to 2013
- The changeover began after leaving the service
- Community activism (toilet bills, transgender in the military)
What life is like for a transgender person
- In general, it’s a scary time, but everyday life depends on the location
The process for changing your name and gender marker varies by state
- Submit documents with a doctor’s signature in Washington
- Also have to go before a judge in Texas
- Alabama requires completed surgery
The challenges transgender people face related to IDs
- Appearance may vary from card
- Sometimes services are denied because of inequality
The administrative steps required to change your name and gender marker
- Update your driver’s license or state ID card
- Update name AND gender with social services
- Maintain legal documentation (e.g. Google Doc, physical copy).
The industries and locations that are trans-friendly
- Value-added professions in high demand such as the IT sector or the aviation industry
The value of having more transgender financial planners
- Difference between support and someone like you
- Understanding nuances, feeling comfortable sharing
Where the LGBT community typically lives in the United States and Canada
- US Coasts + Illinois (Progressive Economic Laws)
- Attracted to the urban areas of Canada
Brynne and Nicole’s insight into the overlapping challenges between groups
- Similar struggles between LGBT and women, but the degree varies
- “Always take time to listen to someone else’s story”