The experiment that could let two men marry in

Chile for first time

SUNDAY, 17 FEBRUARY 2013 13:13
WRITTEN BY ELIZABETH TROVALL

Lack of transgender ID laws make it possible for LGBT male

activists to say “I do.”

Love may not hold them together, but the law certainly can’t keep
them apart. Although Chile continues to forbid gay marriage in all its
forms, Elías Jiménez and Lukas Berredo might make history as the
country’s first male married couple.

That’s because in the eyes of the Chilean government, Berredo is

actually female.

As a transgender man, Berredo has facial hair, underwent breast

removal, and takes male hormones. When the two men marched into
Santiago’s Civil Registry to be wed on Valentine’s Day, officials took
one look at them and told them they clearly could not marry each
other. However, once Berredo showed his I.D. with a capital “F” for
“female,” the authorities were forced to reconsider the technically
heterosexual marriage.

Jiménez and Berredo are currently awaiting the go-ahead from the
government for their marriage, which is still pending. They were not
granted the marriage licence initially, and will not be able to marry
until they receive governmental consent.

Jiménez, an LGBT activist who acts as a legal advisor to the

Movement for Social Diversity (MUM), said the government shouldn’t
be able to stop the marriage. Because Chile does not recognize
transitions of gender identity, Berredo will always be “female” in the
eyes of the law as it exists today.
Jiménez said the purpose of the marriage is to illuminate
contradictions in current LGBT legislation in Chile, as well educate the
public on these topics.

“We wanted to show the total lack of understanding about

transsexuality, sexual orientation and gender identity,” said Jiménez.

Once the marriage is approved, the two fully intend to marry one
another as a statement, even though Berredo is actually a
heterosexual transgender man and attracted to women, not men.

“In reality we are not a couple,” said Jiménez. “It’s all a performance
to show evidence of the contradictions in Chilean law.”

Valentina Verbal, a transgender woman and congressional candidate,

praised the couple, saying, “The experiment, in addition to showing
the lack of access to marriage also shows an interesting perspective
on gender identity. It shows it all, like how Lukas could not change his
legal sex, but only his name. And it also showed great ignorance on
issues of sexual diversity.”

Transgender activists like Verbal are trying to gain rights to gender

expression, so they can change their sex on their identification cards.
Because legal sex cannot currently be altered, transgender people
frequently face discrimination when finding a job when potential
employers notice their sex doesn’t match their appearance.

“For us, to enroll in an educational institution, to submit a resume for

a job, to vote or to cash a check are tasks hampered by bureaucracy
and lack of knowledge,” said Berredo. “For many trans people,
discrimination occurs even when walking down the street, becoming,
in many cases, an act of violence.”

Both Jiménez and Berredo think discrimination is a huge problem in

Chile that needs to be addressed further by the government. Though
President Sebastián Piñera signed an anti-discrimination law into
effect last year, Berredo sees this legislation as lacking.

“When you say, ‘if you do this, then you'll be punished,’ you're not
actually generating a society that will be more inclusive, respectful of
difference and celebrating diversity. You are simply imposing rules
that can be followed, or not, for fear of the consequences,” said
Berredo.

He believes to really stop these types of hate crimes, greater steps

need to be made by the government to educate the public on
sexuality, sexual expression, identity and gender.

“It’s imperative to begin to develop a work focused on early

childhood, together with parents and guardians, teachers and
principals, educating in diversity in the whole school context.”

For now, Berredo and Jiménez are taking public awareness about
gender identity and sexual orientation into their own hands. They are
hopeful that the government will approve their marriage, but in any
case they’re glad to be stirring up some controversy.

By Elizabeth Trovall (trovall@santiagotimes.cl)

Copyright 2013 – The Santiago Times