According to My Birth Certificate, I Was Male.
How a single clerical error delayed my dream of working abroad and why it took me 50 years to finally correct it. If you've known me personally, you'd probably laugh at the title of this blog. No, I didn't spend 50 years questioning my gender. I spent 3 months shy of 50 years trying to correct a typo. Yes, you read that right. Turns out, for the first 25 years of my life, I had absolutely no idea that according to my birth certificate... I was male . Imagine discovering that only when you're already processing your passport. Hindi nagbabasa nganiii! I was in my mid-twenties then, full of dreams and excited about the possibility of working abroad and giving my kids a wonderful future. My passport application was supposed to be the first step toward a better future. Instead, it became one of the most heartbreaking days of my young adult life. THE CULPRIT? A single letter on my birth certificate. Sex: M. As in MALE. I remember staring at the document, convinced there had ...