First Transsexual Woman in Bolivia Gets Legally Married

After several attempts, Luna, who self-identifies as a transsexual, finally could legally marry her husband making history in Bolivia, reported EFE Sunday.

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Luna, currently studying journalism explained in an interview that she obtained the administrative change of sex and gender on official documents a few months after the Gender Identity bill was approved on May 21.

Then she started investigating how she could legally marry the man she was living with, “I studied in depth the law and did not find any obstacle,” she said, while the constitution only forbids same-sex marriages.

When she tried to register as a single woman with the civil registry, state officials responded that it was impossible because she was not “a biological woman” but a “transsexual” one.

Finally, the civil registry's director Jose Pardo said she was entitled to get married and explained that many state officials still did not fully understand the recent bill, nor the process going on in Bolivia and Latin America.

An unofficial wedding ceremony took place on Dec. 16, only one day after the civil registry delivered the document proving she was a single woman, and the administrative one formally confirmed the union on Dec. 30.

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“We would like to be an example of struggle for the many couples who wish to marry and to become a family,” said Luna, who started a sexual transition when she was 19 years old.

Last May, Bolivia approved a law that grants transgender people the right to change their name, their gender, and their photo in their government documentation in order to reflect the gender they choose.

That same month, a report found that the Americas had the highest number of respondents saying they have become more accepting of LGBTI people in the last five years (34 percent) and the lowest number dismissing homosexuality as a Western phenomenon.

Ecuador also approved a similar law that permits citizens to change their birth name and gender identity on legal documents. The country's electoral commission also recently implemented a number of changes that will respect people's chosen gender identity throughout the 2017 election process.