Unseen and unsafe: Students who have been “deadnamed” explain why a new California law matters [calmatters.org]

Rafael Maravilla(PACEs Connection Staff) 12/15/217:57 PM

By Oden Taylor, Photo: Karlos Rene Ayala/Cal Matters, Cal Matters, December 14, 2021

Jamie Marquis can’t count the number of times they’ve been called the wrong name.

A junior psychology major at the University of California, Davis, who identifies as non-binary, they changed their name several years ago. But since then they’ve struggled to get that name even on basic educational records, instead of their name assigned at birth that they do not identify with, commonly known as a deadname.

“I wish that there was a way to really explain to cisgender people how being deadnamed feels,” Marquis said. “It’s humiliating. It makes you feel out of place and unwelcome, because of all the things about your identity, even your name is being ignored.”

[Please click here to read more.]

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