Between Worlds
Illustration by Emma Lesur for palabra
Living the disparity of trans legislation in Mexico and Europe
It was Valentine’s Day in 2022, the day best suited for Emma, a Mexican citizen living in England, to travel with her sister and myself, her mother, to the Mexican Embassy in London to be issued a new birth certificate.
She was the first Mexican in the United Kingdom to benefit from a new interpretation of a law (implemented earlier in the same year) that allows trans Mexicans living abroad access to crucial documentation recognizing their gender identities and chosen names.
Her sister Sofia stood as witness as Emma signed the new birth certificate. We climbed the embassy stairs to be congratulated by Josefa González Blanco, Mexico’s ambassador to England. Embassy staffers smiled broadly, evidently proud of this advance.
“Mexico has been leading gender equality efforts in the international community for a long time now, including both a feminist and a LGBTQ+-inclusive foreign policy,” the Ambassador said.
Among the issues that inspired me to write about that special day was how the new law can help reverse national stereotypes. Emma also holds Dutch nationality (through me – I was born in Holland). The Netherlands is widely thought to be one of the world’s more progressive countries on matters to do with sexuality and gender, while Mexico has long been associated with machismo and rigid, undisguised patriarchy – and their inevitable spawn: misogyny, homophobia and transphobia.
‘It’s also frustrating when the bare minimum is made to seem like a great advancement.’
So imagine our surprise when it turned out that Emma’s attempt to update her passport at the Netherlands embassy was met with endless obstacles. The delay has proven disheartening for a 21-year-old trying to win legal recognition for something as simple as the name she’s been living with for more than six years.
One year to the day after receiving the Mexican birth certificate, Emma (who has an interest in activism and politics) sat with me for a conversation about how her feelings had evolved since the event at the Mexican Embassy. Emma was already aware of the story, but I had just read in the British press about the murder of Brianna Ghey, a 16-year-old trans girl who was stabbed to death in broad daylight, allegedly by two 15-year-olds, in what police called “a targeted attack.”
Barbara: After the photo session with the ambassador, once we were back on the street, I remember you and Sofia joking about how absurd it felt, and you finding it bizarre that it was referred to as a ‘historic event’. Why were you so skeptical?
Emma: I think I felt weird because, to me, it seemed like they were patting themselves on the back for removing an obstacle that – at least from my perspective – didn’t need to be there in the first place. As a trans person, there are a lot of systems that you have to wrestle against to be recognized, so while it’s really relieving to see improvements, it’s also frustrating when the bare minimum is made to seem like a great advancement…
‘Mexico is the second country in the world for trans hate crimes and murders after Brazil.’
Barbara: I relate to that frustration because of how, in order to achieve change these days, we’ve had to compromise our radicalism. When I was active in the feminist movement in Britain in the 1980s, we knew value systems had to be changed in a fundamental way to even start imagining the end of women’s oppression. But legally we had to settle for little steps. Perhaps it’s about keeping our eyes on the ball, our radical aims and vision, while slogging on with social and legal reform. Do you still feel the same way after researching this article?
Emma: Yeah, I think I still hold a lot of that skepticism, but I also understand that it’s good to make noise when obstacles are removed for marginalized groups, so people are aware that the bar is being raised and it sets an example for others to see. My issue is that despite all that, it still feels like governments often push for surface-level changes that reflect positively on themselves as a way to avoid more fundamental reforms needed to tackle the roots of systemic issues like misogyny and transphobia.
It still frustrates and upsets me to think Mexico is making great developments in ‘petty’ things like documentation while life-threatening issues like transfemicide or proper medical care are still a huge problem.
Mexico is the second country in the world for trans hate crimes and murders after Brazil.
Barbara: I can understand why you would see it that way. Last year I spent almost the same time in Mexico as I did in the UK and, from talking to people, I realized how tragically common and widespread femicides are. Although there isn’t so much discussion around trans issues, there’s a really impressive level of public debate about misogyny.
What surprised me most was that public opinion on trans issues in Mexico seemed a lot less stirred up by the kind of hateful and misleading rhetoric that’s become so commonplace in British news outlets. To be honest, it’s put me off reading the UK news because it makes me anxious as the mom of a trans daughter.
From your experience of growing up in both countries, how do you think those systemic issues should be addressed?
Emma: I think a lot of misunderstanding and hatred comes from a lack of knowledge and outdated information, so maybe a systemic change in how schooling is handled could be really powerful in helping reduce these problems.
We form our ideas about gender roles and the gender binary very early through our parents and schools, and our parents often teach us what they learned at their own schools. That means that whatever the government puts on the curriculum has a big impact on how we see the world.
It’s so important that we see this because beliefs about how women and men should behave and be treated affect everyone, not just trans people. This is a big cause of gender discrimination, whether sexism and misogyny or transphobia.
I feel so strongly about this issue because I believe limited education is largely the reason why transfemicides and transphobia are so common. The life expectancy of trans people in Latin America is 35-41, compared to an average of 75, and up to 77% of trans people were kicked out by their families as children. (The data comes from a REDLACTRANS report from 2014.)
Whether this is in the UK, Mexico or anywhere else, the way we teach gender currently sets up a cognitive division in people’s minds that makes it really hard to accept different gender identities. It’s a restrictive perception ingrained in all of us that we trans people have to unlearn in order to be ourselves, and that cisgender people will have to unlearn in order to stop discriminating against trans people. (Cisgender means that whatever gender someone is now is the same as what was presumed at birth).
Emma and Barbara in conversation. Illustration by Emma Lesur for palabra
Barbara: You mentioned that since we heard about the achievements of well-known trans activists Kenya Cuevas and Gloria Davenport you’ve felt less skeptical of Mexico’s progress in trans rights. Could you talk more about that?
Emma: Of course! I think it was a wonderful and reassuring opportunity to be in contact with them. As you told me earlier in your research, it’s amazing that Kenya, with her refuge for trans women Casa de las Muñecas Tiresias, was labeled as one of Mexico’s most powerful women by Forbes, next to the mayor of Mexico City, and Natalia Lafourcade (whom I love). That, along with the fact that two trans women are now part of Mexico’s Congress, is really relieving.
It’s almost bizarre in comparison to my experience of living in the UK, and our media’s increasing demonization and scapegoating of trans people. In the last few months that has begun to really scare me. Because of that, I’m grateful to know there are trans activists out there being recognized and admired, especially in my home country. Gloria and Kenya definitely feel like positive role models.
Barbara: We’ve been struggling for some time trying to get your Dutch passport changed. I’m normally proud to be Dutch, but this has left me upset. What has it felt like for you?
Emma: Honestly, it’s been frustrating and demeaning. The amount of mixed information and poor communication has led to an incredible waste of our time and money. The whole process has felt really hostile, which I never would have expected.
One of the demands they make to ‘prove’ you are transgender is to have an expert statement from a registered Dutch psychology professional. I have never lived in the Netherlands and do not speak Dutch. All my trans medical treatment is done by doctors in the UK who could easily provide a statement, but instead, it costs 120+ euros to get the psychological screening they require and a special document verifying the validity of my transness that is only usable for 6 months before a new one is needed. The process seems really backward.
I know that prior to Mexico’s new legislation, it would have also been really difficult to change my name and gender on my birth certificate, but now that the change is implemented, thinking about my struggles with the Dutch system feels all the more jarring. It’s probably rooted in the types of assumptions I’ve been taught to make about Europe in comparison to Latin America.
Barbara: How would you compare progress in the UK compared to Mexico?
Emma: From our chat with Kenya, there is still a lot that needs to be done in Mexico. She mentioned one of the biggest priorities is access to safe, affordable trans healthcare, which is also an issue in the UK, but not to the same extent (although trans healthcare in England is in much need of reform).
Yet, despite being behind in some areas, Mexico is making tangible progress – whereas it feels like England is taking a lot of steps backward.
It was only in November last year that the British prime minister suggested lifting the protection of trans people from the Equality Act, and he even went out of his way to block Scotland's recent attempt to pass gender recognition legislation. On the other hand, Mexico recently added amendments to its constitution that help protect trans people, making it very difficult to go back on that development in the way that England is trying to do.
I think we still have a long way to go in both countries, but at the moment, Mexico is filling me with much more confidence and pride. I hope other countries can follow its example.
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Barbara Kastelein lived in Mexico for 14 years as a travel writer, columnist, editor, lecturer, environmental news reporter and author. She has a Ph.D. in Popular/Post-feminism and Popular Culture from the University of Warwick in England. In Mexico, she developed an interest in anthropology of tourism and has contributed chapters to academic collections in this field (Duke University Press, University of Arizona Press). She is finalising edits of her fourth book, a cultural history of the Acapulco Cliff Divers.
Emma Lesur is a Mexican-Dutch multimedia artist and writer studying at Farnham University for the Creative Arts. Her topics of interest range from politics and environmentalism to queer issues and philosophy. Besides her studies, she currently freelances as an illustrator while volunteering for a number of activist organisations and collectives.