He was refused when he went to get his license at a DMV office in Anderson, after passing his driving test in March. The agency rules say “at no time will an applicant be photographed when it appears that he or she is purposely altering his or her appearance so that the photo would misrepresent his or her identity.” As a consequence, to get his license driver, Chase was obliged to remove the makeup. But he considered himself sex discriminated because he regularly wears makeup and either androgynous or women’s clothing to express more appropriately how he is positioning as a gender nonconforming.
With the support of a New York group known as the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, he asked again to the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles to be allowed to replace his photo on the license driver with one which reflect his option and the real appearance. The final answer will be given by justice and this case will probably clarify a such dilemma for many others in the future.
