69-year-old man cites gender transition in quest to legally change age to 49
Emile Ratelband, a 69-year-old Dutchman, is arguing that trans people being able to legally change their gender supports his quest to legally change his age to 49.
Ratelband, a TV personality and ‘positivty guru’, has asked a Netherlands court to allow him to legally change his birthday and make him 20 years younger.
Ratelband says that he feels 20 years younger than his actual age, and that the change would boost his dating prospects and combat ageism, ABC News reported.
“With this freedom of choice, choice of name, freeness of gender, I want to have my own age,” Ratelband said.
“I want to control myself.
“When I ask for a mortgage, for example, they say it’s impossible.
“If I go on Tinder, then I get women from 68, 69 when women are there.”
Activists and users on social media slammed Ratelband, labelling the move a publicity stunt and an attack on the legitimacy of trans people’s identities.
“Is this Emile Ratelband dude seriously trying to make a mockery of the transgender community?” one user wrote.
“Some dude wants to lie about his age on a dating app and is comparing it to be trans. jfc [Jesus f**king Christ],” another said.
“His actions do more harm than many [people] realize. To many this is just “fun” or “a joke”. For trans people, who already have so much to deal with on a daily basis, this is their lives being ridiculed again, and again, and again,” another user said.
I’m sorry but changing your age legally so you aren’t catfishing on a dating app is NOTHING like being transgender going through the courts to get a your gender marker changed. How dare you even compare the two. We do this to be able to live authentically and happy.
— Juliet Evancho (@J_Evancho_) November 10, 2018
If you think there is ANY comparison to be drawn from a Dutch idiot trying to legally change his age and a legitimate Transgender person then you are a moron
— Ross McCafferty (@RossMcCaff) November 10, 2018
Ratelband will receive a response from the court in the coming weeks.