Journey to Himself
Transman seeks altered birth certificate

       Burlington - The occasion was so low-key, it could have been a tetanus shot. But in fact, Ethan Fechter-Leggett was taking one more step on his journey to himself by getting his surgeon to sign his application to change the gender on his birth certificate - in Florida.
     Fechter-Leggett and Notary Public John Sama watched as Dr. Cheryl Gibson completed the forms. Her signature was required as the surgeon who performed Fechter-Leggett's hysterectomy and oopherectomy (removal of the uterus and ovaries). Sama, who works at UVM’s Living/Learning Center and has known Ethan for nearly five years, witnessed Gibson's signature and affixed his notary's seal. Dr. Gibson wished the young man well, and the occasion was over, just one more step in a long journey.
     A fifth-year senior majoring in animal science (pre-veterinary studies), Fechter-Leggett is the vice president of Free to Be, the student government-recognized and -funded campus alliance of gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans, queer, questioning, intersex, and allies.
      He has thoroughly documented his surgical, hormonal, emotional, and legal transition from self-identified "dyke" ("I came out the first time when I was 14," Fechter-Leggett said as we waited for Dr. Gibson. "My parents were cool with it.") to man ("They freaked out when I came out as trans.") on his web page, accessible through the Free to Be website: www.uvm.edu/~free2b/members.html
     His voting residence is Vermont, where he already has a new driver's license. However, explicit legal protections for transsexuals have yet to be enacted into law, an issue for which Rep. Bill Lippert (D-Hinesburg) has requested drafting language for possible introduction in the 2005 legislative session. Transsexuals are included as a category in the state's hate crimes law, and the Attorney General's office issued a ruling last spring that considers transsexuals covered under the sex and orientation categories of the nondiscrimination law.
     This appointment and the application for a changed birth certificate that necessitated it were just one more step, perhaps one of the last that Ethan Fechter-Leggett will need to take in legally establishing his gender identity.