Legal and social aspects (by Wiki)

Many Western societies have procedures whereby an individual can change their name, and sometimes, their legal gender, to reflect their gender identity. Laws regarding changes to the legal status of transsexuals are different from country to country. Within the US, some state jurisdictions do allow amendments or complete replacement of the original birth certificates. Some jurisdictions may even seal earlier records against all but court orders in order to protect the transsexual's privacy.

In many other countries, it is still not possible to change birth records or other legal documents relating to ones gender status. Since many governments are revising the legal status of post-operative transsexuals, there are many individuals pioneering changes to these laws, such as Estelle Asmodelle whose book documents her struggle to change the Australian birth certificate and passport laws, although there are other individuals who are were instrumental in changing laws and thus attaining more acceptance for transsexual people in general.

Medical treatment for transsexual and transgender people is also available in most Western countries. However, transsexual and transgender people challenge the "normative" gender roles of many cultures and often face considerable hatred and prejudice. The film Boys Don't Cry chronicles the case of Brandon Teena, a transsexual man who was raped and murdered after his status was discovered. The project Remembering Our Dead, founded by Gwendolyn Ann Smith, archives numerous cases of transsexual and transgender people being murdered. In the United States, November 20 has been set aside as the "Day of Remembrance" for all murdered transgender people.

Some people who have switched their gender role enter into traditional social institutions such as marriage and the role of parenting. They sometimes adopt or provide foster care for children, as complete sex reassignment therapy inevitably results in infertility. Sometimes, they adopt children who are also transsexual or transgender and help them live according to their gender identity. Some transsexual people have children from before transition. Some of these children continue living with their transitioning/transitioned parent, or retain close contact with them. A recent study shows that this does not harm the development of these children in any way.

The style guides of many media outlets prescribe that a journalist who writes about a transsexual person should use the name and pronouns used by that person. Family members and friends, who are often confused about pronoun usage or the definitions of sex, are frequently instructed in proper pronoun usage, either by the transsexual person or by professionals or other persons familiar with pronoun usage as it relates to transsexual people. Sometimes, transsexual people have to correct their friends and family members many times before they begin to use the proper pronouns consistently.