Dear Birth Certificate,
From the day I left the hospital, you were a sheet of paper that defined who I was. My name, my weight, my height, my age, hair color, my sex and my race-you have all my information. For the rest of my life, your definition of me was pretty much my identity. You told me, ever since I can remember, that I am an Asian female (more particularly an Indian female). Growing up I resented you at times. Why did you have to classify me as Asian? I was one of the two Asian kids in my second-grade class, everyone else was white. I remember thinking at times I wished I was white. Why didn’t you say my race was white? Why wasn’t my name something like Abby or Rachel, something that wasn’t so difficult to pronounce? A good chunk of my childhood I wished you made me more similar to friend’s. Why did you make me stand out? But eventually, I learned to appreciate you. I realized you varied from person to person. I grew proud of the ethnic background you gave me and viewed it more as a blessing rather than a curse. I took pride in having one of the longer last names in my class. I met people with similar identities that I could relate to and as a result, I didn’t feel as isolated anymore. I learned to be grateful for what you gave me because many others had it much more different than me.
You are tied to each person’s identity. You are something that some people wish they could change. On a surface level, some people may want to change their name or maybe their hair color. They can go to a court clerk or a hairdresser. But on a deeper level, others may wish for a different sex or race. I thought I resented you growing up because I always felt as though girls had it harder than boys, but I can’t imagine how a transgender individual feels about you. You gave individuals the wrong gender and now they have to deal with the emotional and physical turmoil they have to undergo with the whole process especially the transitioning process-if they choose to go down this route. The judgement these individuals get for not “sticking with” the gender you gave them is absurd. Why did you make gender such a binary thing? Alongside this, lets talk about race. The race you assign people is something they are stuck with for life. You represent privilege. You represent where I stand in society. The classification you give people for race and gender results in the stereotypes they face in society. If a cop pulls me over, thanks to you I don’t have to be scared for my life. But for individuals you classify as black males, they aren’t nearly as lucky. Because of you, some people face much more discrimination than others.
To me, you are a 21-year-old sheet of paper that invigorates a variety of emotions. However, at the end of the day though, I remember the amount of privilege you gave me in comparison to others. I think about the black men and women, the Hispanic men and women, the Native American men and women, and the LGBTQ+ community. Rather than focusing on what you didn’t give me, I utilize what you did give me. I use the power you gave me to stand up for those whose voices are silenced. You are a very powerful sheet of paper in every individual’s life.
Sincerely,
Nethra Ranganathan