British woman's life impacted by clerical error in her birth registry, "I'm a girl, not a boy"

Plot Device · May 6, 2014

British woman's life impacted by clerical error in her birth registry, "I'm a girl, not a boy"

Okay so what I'm understanding here is that in the UK they have TWO written documents that get generated at birth. First there is the birth CERTIFICATE that the doctor fills out and that you get copies of for proving this or that during your life. And then there is the birth REGISTRY which is a permanent listing of all the births in a given district, listed in chronological order. The registry remains in the local jurisdiction.

So, this woman was born in the UK back in 1965, and her birth CERTIFICATE declared her to be a female, but then when the local jurisdiction logged her birth in the REGISTRY, she was declared a male.

http://www.inquisitr.com/1238083/kim-walmsley-clerical-error/

Proof That The World Is Insane: Kim Walmsley’s Life Was Ruined By A Pointless Clerical Error Made In 1965

May 4, 2014

... What was this mistake that sent her idyllic life into a tailspin? When Walmsley was born, in 1965, her birth certificate was filed in the registrar’s office under “boy” instead of “girl.”

That meant that her perfectly happy marriage of 23 years is actually a “same sex marriage,” which is illegal in the U.K. and Australia. In other words, she has never been legally married at all. And in the eyes of the law, she’s a man....

...

Kim appealed to Britain’s General Registry, which records births and deaths, and the apparatchiks there admitted that there that, yes, someone made a big mistake — but as bureaucrats often do, they just shrugged their shoulders and told her that what’s done is done and there’s nothing legally they can do to fix it.

Even Britain’s top religious leader, the Archbishop of Canterbury sent an official letter to Kim Walmsley last year telling her, in so many words, “tough luck.”

The family was forced to leave Australia and have been living in Liverpool, where — to make the whole episode even more insane — they’ve been subject to homophobic harassment and threats from neighborhood pinheads....

regdog · May 6, 2014

There is no bottom to the abyss of stupid

Sedjet · May 6, 2014

Wow, there sure isn't. Who harassed them anyway? Couldn't they see she was a woman? I don't mean it's okay to harass people for a same sex relationship (or for anything for that matter), but...how do those people even know she's listed as a guy in the registrar's office and... No. I give up making sense of it. This is just ridiculous on all counts.

KarmaPolice · May 6, 2014

Oh, for the love of God. As a fellow victim of f*** dumb bureaucrats (I had the pleasure of discovering I legally didn't exist at 16) it's events like this that make me wonder if we should just put them all against the wall. Nit-picking officious little dictators who make people's lives a misery on a daily basis.

Yeah, Belinda, don't try to make sense of it - for it has none. Bureaucracy and mobs are equally stupid on such things.

Alpha Echo · May 6, 2014

I agree with all the posters, but I want to point out something that bothers me about journalism. Excuse me, I mean "journalism."

Kim appealed to Britain’s General Registry, which records births and deaths, and the apparatchiks there admitted that there that, yes, someone made a big mistake — but as bureaucrats often do, they just shrugged their shoulders and told her that what’s done is done and there’s nothing legally they can do to fix it.

Shouldn't a real journalist simply report the facts? Give us a quote from someone working at the Registry. Tell us what was said. I get it - bureaucrats often behave that way. But leave that for the readers to decide on their own. Don't tell us how to feel about those working at the Registry.

I know this is a prevalent problem in today's journalism, but it was so blatant in this article, I had to rant for a moment.

This wasn't a blog, right? This was a "news" article. This isn't the first journalist to behave this way, and it won't be last. Opinions are supposed to be left out of the news. That's the whole reason we have op eds, right?

robeiae · May 6, 2014

This story reads wrong to me. Maybe I'm just too damn cynical, I don't know.

Anyway, I looked around on the 'net and found some other stories involving this family:

http://www.southport.gb.com/southpo...amily_monitored_by_'Big_Brother'-50404182.htm

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/arsonist-target-family-formby-crash-3340521

I'm not sure what to make of this stuff, since there seems to be no mention of the horrible problems caused by the supposed clerical error in the past. And what I'm really not seeing is anything indicating that her marriage was actually declared invalid or the like.

Cyia · May 6, 2014

Belinda Rees said:
Wow, there sure isn't. Who harassed them anyway? Couldn't they see she was a woman?

My guess - and it's just a guess - is that her harassers assume she's a biological male "living as" a female. Plenty of pre-op trans people "look" like the gender they are transitioning toward. Or, they assume she's undergone gender-reassignment, so while she appears female in every way, she still wouldn't "be" female to them.

Hate isn't always based on appearance; it can also be perception.

Satori1977 · May 6, 2014

I don't understand....why can't they simply change it in the registry since it is THEIR fault? How hard can it really be?

kuwisdelu · May 6, 2014

This actually happened to someone I know here in the US.

She didn't realize it or think much about it until they came after her for not signing up for the draft.

Wtf?

cornflake · May 6, 2014

Alpha Echo said:
I agree with all the posters, but I want to point out something that bothers me about journalism. Excuse me, I mean "journalism."

Shouldn't a real journalist simply report the facts? Give us a quote from someone working at the Registry. Tell us what was said. I get it - bureaucrats often behave that way. But leave that for the readers to decide on their own. Don't tell us how to feel about those working at the Registry.

I know this is a prevalent problem in today's journalism, but it was so blatant in this article, I had to rant for a moment.

This wasn't a blog, right? This was a "news" article. This isn't the first journalist to behave this way, and it won't be last. Opinions are supposed to be left out of the news. That's the whole reason we have op eds, right?

No, that's not actual journalism or a news site. See the part you quoted, "apparatchiks," etc.

That, "apparatchiks," is where I stopped reading, assumed the story was bogus in some way, and decide not to investigate any further, because if they had an actual story, they could've used it. Which, I'd argue, is the problem with behaving like that. If you can't even pretend to be serious, people won't take you seriously.

Alpha Echo · May 6, 2014

cornflake said:
No, that's not actual journalism or a news site. See the part you quoted, "apparatchiks," etc.

That, "apparatchiks," is where I stopped reading, assumed the story was bogus in some way, and decide not to investigate any further, because if they had an actual story, they could've used it. Which, I'd argue, is the problem with behaving like that. If you can't even pretend to be serious, people won't take you seriously.

I didn't even know what "apparatchiks" was until you mentioned it, and I looked it up. Thanks for pointing that out.

Albedo · May 6, 2014

If you want to picture the future of journalism, imagine a finger, clicking on some stupid clickbait, forever.

I'm with Robovowels. This family, they're some of those 'celebrity at any cost' people, aren't they? I guess the whole 'Big Brother House' thing bought them only 14 minutes, 30 seconds ...

Lyv · May 6, 2014

Alpha Echo said:
I agree with all the posters, but I want to point out something that bothers me about journalism. Excuse me, I mean "journalism."

Shouldn't a real journalist simply report the facts? Give us a quote from someone working at the Registry. Tell us what was said. I get it - bureaucrats often behave that way. But leave that for the readers to decide on their own. Don't tell us how to feel about those working at the Registry.

I know this is a prevalent problem in today's journalism, but it was so blatant in this article, I had to rant for a moment.

This wasn't a blog, right? This was a "news" article. This isn't the first journalist to behave this way, and it won't be last. Opinions are supposed to be left out of the news. That's the whole reason we have op eds, right?

I've read the original link and a bunch of stories (on sites like Yahoo news, the Telegraph, etc) and I still can't tell if they are reporting the women's claim that she has a letter from the Archbishop of Canterbury or they have verified the letter. I would think that would be something a journalist would do. The only sources seem to be other stories and the woman.

Alpha Echo · May 6, 2014

Lyv said:
I've read the original link and a bunch of stories (on sites like Yahoo news, the Telegraph, etc) and I still can't tell if they are reporting the women's claim that she has a letter from the Archbishop of Canterbury or they have verified the letter. I would think that would be something a journalist would do. The only sources seem to be other stories and the woman.

It shouldn't surprise me, but I miss the days when journalists did their jobs and hunted down sources. When they had fact checkers following up behind the journalists. I don't know much about it, and I'll admit I know all I know from TV and fiction novels, but still.

Now, a "journalist," whether accredited or not, it seems, hears something somewhere from someone and publishes the story. Like gossip.

British woman's life impacted by clerical error in her birth registry, "I'm a girl, not a boy"

Plot Device

A woman said to write like a man.

regdog

The Scavengers

Sedjet

Lurker Extraordinaire

KarmaPolice

Alpha Echo

I should be writing.

robeiae

Touch and go

Cyia

Rewriting My Destiny

Satori1977

Listening to the Voices In My Head

kuwisdelu

Revolutionize the World

cornflake

practical experience, FTW

Alpha Echo

I should be writing.

Albedo

Alex

Lyv

I meant to do that.

Alpha Echo

I should be writing.