L.A. Cartier, a 36-year-old social media creator and singer-songwriter, has spent her life correcting others on how to pronounce and spell her distinctive name, which includes periods after the letters. Her mother combined two family surnames to create this unique name, but changing laws prevent such names today, causing confusion and requiring L.A. to often show her ID for validation. When she requested her birth certificate, the GRO incorrectly listed her name as 'La', further complicating her identity verification and highlighting challenges living with an unconventional name.
"People think I don't want to give them my real name...sometimes I have to show my driver's license to prove it."
"It's just having to explain every time, and the conversation that has to happen before they understand."
"Whenever I write my name online I have to type it as an L and a small a as it wont go into the system."
"When I tried to order a copy of my birth certificate, the GRO refused to change my name unless I changed it altogether."
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