Monday, February 11, 2019

Week 6 - Change your name, change your gender, change your age?

This is a Dutch case so it doesn't have the same case identifier information as a US case, but it's too good to not write about.

Emile Ratelband, a citizen of the Netherlands, age 69, was the voice of the character Vladimir Trunkov in the Dutch-language version of the Pixar film Cars 2.  He petitioned the court to change his birthday from March 11, 1949 to March 11, 1969, thereby reducing his age by 20 years.  He claims his age was affecting his employment chances and his success rate on the dating app, Tinder.

He compares the change to those identifying as transgender.

"We live in a time when you can change your name and change your gender. Why can't I decide my own age?" he said.

On December 3, 2018, the Court denied his request.  “Mr. Ratelband is at liberty to feel 20 years younger than his real age and to act accordingly. But amending his date of birth would cause 20 years of records to vanish from the register of births, deaths, marriages and registered partnerships.” 


3 comments:

  1. So glad you shared this one, Dena. I remember reading about it last year when he made the petition to the courts and had wondered how it would turn out. He did it to make a point rather than actually have his age changed I believe.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hadn't heard that he wanted to make a point, but I guess his point was made, whether or not his petition was granted.

      Delete
  2. That's how it was reported on the news in Australia - whether it's what he actually thought who knows!

    ReplyDelete