I want to remove school record that reveal my trans status. Can my complaint use terms which stipulate this without identifying as 'transgender'? [closed]

Question

I live in California and ran track in high school.

During winter break of 10th grade, I began my transition and returned in 2014, facing challenges to be treated equally. My former school was slow to provide support, violating my rights through discrimination. For instance, despite expressing my desire to compete on the men's team, I was not allowed to, leading to the disclosure of both pre-transition and post-transition data in the female division.

It has recently come to my attention that my placement scores, name, and video data were posted on a 3rd party public website (Athletic.net), which I believe violates my rights.

I plan to file a complaint to have these records amended or removed. In my complaint, I will highlight that this disclosure presents safety issues and compromises my identity.

However, I am concerned because the supporting documents I want to use to support my argument use terms like 'transgender' and 'gender non-conforming,' which I do not identify as. I identify as male and view my transition as an experience rather than a defining label.

On a positive note, I legally changed my name and sex identifier during my senior year, which I will mention in my case.

sex and gender defined

If I use these legal documents to express identity my male identity, discerning I'm not trans-male but still acknowledging that I underwent a transition and that my original sealed birth certificate listed me as female at birth, will these discrepancies affect the likelihood of my complaint being accepted and acted upon?

Answer 1

These discrepancies probably won't hurt your complaint.

To be successful, your complaint needs to lay out a set of facts that support a claim for legal relief. Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). But the facts you've laid out don't support a claim for legal relief.

Like everyone else in America, Athletic.net has a First Amendment right to print true facts about public events online. If you competed in a girls' track meet, there's nothing illegal about saying so, even if you didn't or currently don't consider yourself a girl.

Obtaining a court order requiring a website to take down information like that would require you to clear evidentiary hurdles that are virtually impossible to get over. New York Times Co. v. United States, 403 U.S. 713, 726 (1971) (“Our cases ... have indicated that there is a single, extremely narrow class of cases in which the First Amendment's ban on prior judicial restraint may be overridden. Our cases have thus far indicated that such cases may arise only when the Nation 'is at war.'") (Brennan, J., concurring).

Regardless of what you (or your documents) say your gender (or sex) is (or was), the court is therefore going to dismiss your complaint at its earliest opportunity.

Answer 2

I want to remove web results that identify me as female. Can I do that without identifying as 'transgender' when that's how legal records identify me?

Because of the First Amendment there are no laws prohibiting you from declaring your identity using any terminology you wish. However, the further you drift from conventional legal definitions the more you risk alienating yourself and your cause from others.

If you meet the common definition of a transgender person yet specifically avoid using that term you will simply need to find some alternate way to describe yourself. That will complicate communication, but there are no legal restrictions on your choice of words.

If I use these legal documents to express identity my male identity, discerning I'm not trans-male but still acknowledging that I underwent a transition and that my original sealed birth certificate listed me as female at birth, will these discrepancies affect the likelihood of my complaint being accepted and acted upon?

This calls for some speculation, but beyond the communication challenges mentioned above, if you are going to dispute the legal record then there would need to be some basis for claiming that the record is incorrect.

From the Oxford Dictionary: "Denoting or relating to a person whose gender identity does not correspond with the sex registered for them at birth."

Considering that: 1.) your gender identity is male, and 2.) your sex registered at birth is female, you would be fighting an uphill battle convincing anyone you are not transgender because your own description of the physical transition from female to male fits this definition perfectly. In other words, your own testimony would convince anyone that you are, in fact, transgender.

The clear and consistent use of commonly understood terminology is important when it comes to convincing people to agree with you. (to avoid confusion, establish rapport, gain empathy...) Therefore, as far as speculating about "likelihood" - choosing to argue that you are not transgender when the entire purpose of your case is to change or delete references to a previous gender is illogical, and I think your chances of success will diminish if you hold fast to that idea.