the governor of my state (nebraska) just signed an executive order defining male and female/man woman (by precisely the metrics you'd expect this cretin to use), and writing it into law that men are stronger, faster, etc. than women. intersex people cannot legally exist under this EO.
it really reinforces my view that this state is not, even a little bit, worth staying in. i don't like being where i'm not wanted to begin with. on top of that, the culture in my blue dot city is getting choked by property hoarders and gentrification. now we have this pissant, useful idiot of a governor who's dedicating his very valuable time to making life harder for a group that's already been kicked around enough. i could tolerate the lack of cool shit to do since i can always travel, but actually living in nebraska is like living in the chernobyl exclusion zone at this rate
the aclu is still trying to figure out what this tangibly means for my birth certificate. my driver's license is already male, thank god, and passports are self-reported anyway. my birth certificate hasn't come up frequently so with any luck, it'll just be a non-issue as it typically is. no word on what this will do for people who already have amended birth certificates, since this state just amends them and doesn't give you a replacement.
for me it's not even about whether this makes a material change to my life; it's just the idea that some random, barely-literate asshole can whip his pen out and give legal ammunition to those who want to be hateful and discriminatory. this isn't anything new in human history, obviously, but i'm just sick of it! i have more important shit going on in my life, why the fuck do i need to care about this? the very ideas of a birth certificate and government-approved gender IDs also blow my fucking mind--who cares! who gives a fuck!!
if you're trans and from a state in a worse spot than nebraska (e.g. florida, tennesee), skip this place if you're looking to escape. there's nothing of value here, there's nothing fun to do, the culture is passive-aggressive and intensely white, stupidity and ignorance are celebrated as personality traits, and everyone i know and respect is leaving in droves (or planning to leave) to begin with. i certainly will be joining them the moment i complete my master's program.