What Is on Caitlyn Jenner's Birth Certificate?

Earning a gold medal in the Olympics is a feat few can hope to achieve. Bruce Jenner is one of those people that will stay in the history books for his amazing display of skill and diligence that led to his accomplishment of winning a gold medal.
 
Recent events have stirred the conversation of which name will be in the history books due to Bruce’s change in gender and name to Caitlyn Marie Jenner. She legally changed her name and gender on her birth certificate in California and made a lot of noise about it in the process. Will she need to order a birth certificate and apply again?

The Procedure

Caitlyn started this process of transformation nearly five years ago. She spent about a year undergoing medical procedures, clinical treatments, and picking out a name. Caitlyn divorced her wife at the time, Kris, in 2014, and then legally petitioned late in 2015 to change her name and identity from William Bruce Jenner to Caitlyn Marie Jenner.

She then went public with her name change by appearing on numerous TV programs. These include an interview with Ellen DeGeneres and Caitlyn’s show “I am Cait.”

What About Kris?

Kris was unsure of what to make of the news. Caitlyn dropped the news on Kris without notice when she began to change her names on the legal documentations they shared. She asked herself if she knew Bruce at all or if she married Caitlyn in the first place.

Laws about changing one’s gender and name on their birth certificate change from state to state. Some states don’t recognize there was a marriage in the first place due to the gender change. Others, like California, seem to acknowledge the marriage as valid.

Laws are Changing

Laws involving the name and gender alterations on birth certificates vary from state to state, but the most common stance taken is that it’s not possible. The court requires documentation of medical procedures, but some transgender people don’t have this paperwork for various reasons.

Initiatives in California have advocated reducing the requirements for changing one’s identity on their birth certificate and has been successful. Transgender individuals now only need to show proof of clinical treatments to change their name legally.

Caitlyn chose to share the news with a bang. She did this to celebrate her own identity as well as support those who are not as fortunate to be able to change their legal names and genders. Many transgender people do not have the same rights or legal recognition that the rest of us enjoy.

Is it acceptable in society for one to be able to legally change one’s birth certificate? This is one of many questions people have about transgender individuals, and cultures should have an open discussion about these topics. Currently, only 15 percent of nations worldwide accept one’s legal right to change their birth gender and name, but the United States is more liberal in this regard.

Time will tell how far this trend of acceptability will go. Birth certificates are an important part of anyone’s life, so order a copy of yours today!