I’m having trouble finding articles about it because search engines have become terrible, but I’ve heard trans people talk about how the Swedish law has been used to transphobic ends (and, yes, racist ones too because common names in immigrant communities weren’t on the list). There’s few gender neutral names on the approved list and getting a gendered name approved for a name change is difficult and leaves the door open for outright transphobia - and legally changing your gender required surgical sterilization in Sweden up until the end of 2012.
this sounds like FUD to me, sweden’s government is generally very progressive when it comes to stuff like this and the system is just there to prevent people naming their kids “allah”.
If anything the way we handle names is great for trans people because getting your legal name changed can be done from the comfort of your computer, largely.
perhaps we have a list of “accepted variations of names” where that is what is legally recognized. Though the body will have to regulate it properly of course.
I could see a system like that being used to racist ends in America. “Please select from the pre-approved list of biblical names”
I’m having trouble finding articles about it because search engines have become terrible, but I’ve heard trans people talk about how the Swedish law has been used to transphobic ends (and, yes, racist ones too because common names in immigrant communities weren’t on the list). There’s few gender neutral names on the approved list and getting a gendered name approved for a name change is difficult and leaves the door open for outright transphobia - and legally changing your gender required surgical sterilization in Sweden up until the end of 2012.
this sounds like FUD to me, sweden’s government is generally very progressive when it comes to stuff like this and the system is just there to prevent people naming their kids “allah”.
If anything the way we handle names is great for trans people because getting your legal name changed can be done from the comfort of your computer, largely.
Spoiler alert: Swedes aren’t above that
The Nazis did it
www.cbc.ca/radio/ideas/how-nazis-used-personal-names-to-spawn-the-holocaust-1.5818120
perhaps we have a list of “accepted variations of names” where that is what is legally recognized. Though the body will have to regulate it properly of course.