When I try for a mental picture of Appalachia, what I normally come up with is West Virginia. As a transperson, that is not normally what I would call heaven. Not even "almost heaven."
But such places can surprise. Last year Trudy Kitzmiller and Kristen Skinner were treated badly at the DMV. You don't have to be transgender to get that...but being transgender at any DMV can be a special kind of Hell.
(A manager) told me it was a DMV policy that people listed as male could not wear makeup. The manager referred to me as 'it' and told me to take off my makeup, wig and fake eyelashes.
--Skinner
She couldn't comply with removing the "wig and fake eyelashes." since they were her own hair. She did remove all her make-up before having her picture taken.
The 45-year-old IT professional called the experience at the Charles Town office in Jefferson County on January 7 "humiliating."
The way I was treated was unprofessional. Isn't the point of a photo identification to identify how you look every day?
--Skinner
Kitzmiller, 52, was also called "it," but at a different office.
According to her, after showing all the legal paperwork to change her name on her driver's license, DMV workers in Martinsburg demanded she remove all makeup, jewelry and long hair.
It doesn't matter whether my license says M or F. I'm still a transgendered woman, and they shouldn't tell me how to dress or appear.
I don't know many transgender women in this state, but it (should have) never happened that way. I am a human being and should be treated as a human being.
--Kitzmiller
Kitzmiller left the office without a new driver's license.
I do not condone or approve any conduct which embarrassed an applicant or would single an applicant out. [T]he department is investigating the women's claims of verbal humiliation.
--Steve Dale, West Virginia DMV
Under West Virginia law, Dale said, a photo that deviates from gender listed on the license falls under an "attempt to conceal or alter your identity or appearance."
It would be the same as if you wanted to take a driver's license picture with a scarf over your face or if you we were wearing some type of garb that conceals your identity," he said. "And the decision is a subjective one that is handed down by the customer service representative, and then is subject to appeal by the manager and then it could come all the way up to me, the commissioner.
Dale suggested that both women should have arrived at the DMV with a court-order and the issue would have been short-circuited.
But before July 1, such a court-order would have required significant medical action. Threatened with legal action by the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, the West Virginia DMV has made a policy change.
Under the new policy, driver’s license applicants “will not be asked to remove or modify makeup, clothing, hair style or hairpiece(s)” for photos.
I’m comfortable saying that we are seeing a change in the world around us. We are hearing more public discussion about transgender people from Laverne Cox and Caitlyn Jenner, who are shining a light on the unique challenges that transgender people face.
--Michael Silverman, TLDEF
Furthermore West Virginia will now cease requiring "gender change surgery", a court order, or an amended birth certificate in order to have the gender marker on the license altered.
15 states still require proof of surgery, a court order, or an amended birth certificate, while four others "have unclear or unknown policies," according to the National Center for Transgender Equality.
The policy was adjusted "to reflect changes in our current society," said DMV spokeswoman Natalie Holcomb.
What they've done is, more or less, modernize to what a lot of other places are doing. The trend is moving toward ID as representing who you are, not somebody else's idea.
--Skinner
The Social Security Administration dropped the proof-of-surgery requirement in 2013. The State Department removed the requirement for gender changes on passports in 2010. Citizenship and Immigration Services eliminated the requirement for green cards in 2012.
It’s the first time in West Virginia law that an LGBTQ equality measure has been enacted.
--Fairness West Virginia
To me, here, it’s monumental because we in the transgender community in the state and nationally face so much discrimination.
--Natasha Kerensky, Hurricane, WV
Getting my license updated has been a long struggle. I am relieved that the DMV will finally allow me to have a license that reflects the real me and will treat transgender people fairly.
--Kitzmiller
This victory sends a strong message about equal rights. Transgender people are entitled to be themselves without discrimination. It is not the role of the DMV or its employees to restrict any transgender person’s freedom to express who they truly are. People should be able to get a driver’s license without being subjected to sex discrimination. The policy change that the DMV has implemented will help all transgender West Virginians in the future and we thank the DMV for agreeing to this change without litigation.
--TLDEF Staff Attorney Ethan Rice