London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Sep 01, 2025

Dad legally changes gender to female in bid to gain custody of kids

Dad legally changes gender to female in bid to gain custody of kids

Ecuadorian father René Salinas Ramos, 47, has changed his gender identity to female on legal documents, despite the fact he still identifies as male in his everyday life. The dad's actions have upset transgender rights activists who say he is taking advantage of the law.
A father has legally changed his gender identification in an attempt to gain custody of his two young daughters following a bitter split from his wife.

René Salinas Ramos, 47, is now listed as female on official documents in his native Ecuador — despite the fact he still identifies as a cisgender male in his everyday life.

The desperate dad claimed he made the drastic decision due to the justice system in his country which he said typically benefits mothers in custody cases.

“Being a father in this country, Ecuador, is punished and I’m only seen as a provider,” Ramos told local outlet La Voz del Tomebamba. “What I have been looking for is to give the love and protection that a mother can give her children.”

Ramos alleged that his daughters currently live in an abusive environment with their mother, and claimed he hasn’t seen his children in more than five months.

“The laws say that the one who has the right is the woman. As of this moment, I am female. Now I’m also a mom, that’s how I consider myself,” Ramos told media assembled outside the city of Cuenca’s Civil Registry office on Dec. 30. “I am very sure of my sexuality. What I have sought is that I want to be a mother, so that I can also give the love and protection of a mother.”

However, his actions have angered activists across the country who fought hard to have the law changed for genuine trans citizens. The Ecuadorian Federation of LGBTI Organizations released a statement denouncing Ramos’ “outlandish” actions earlier this week.

“This man’s private matter, to obtain custody of his daughters, isn’t the spirit of the law,” prominent trans activist Diane Rodríguez, Ecuador’s first trans Assembly Member and national director of the Ecuadorian Federation of LGBTI Organizations, told VICE World News.

Rodríguez also told the outlet she first thought this was “fake news”, but now “we are afraid that in the Assembly things will go backwards and they will start legislating against us.”

Meanwhile, the custody battle between the dad and his ex-wife is ongoing.

“Until this matter is resolved, [the children] have to stay with their mother,” Ramos said, as reported by Jam Press. “The law is taking away our right to be parents. [Changing my official documents] is a proof of love.”

Ramos is Ecuador’s first reported case of a man taking advantage of the change-of-gender laws in an attempt to give himself a leg-up in a custody case.

In the US, laws regarding trans citizens changing their gender identity differ according to the State.

According to Bankrate, transgender individuals can legally change their gender on their driver’s licenses in all 50 States — but the process can be challenging. Some States require a birth certificate amendment and proof of gender-affirming surgery.

Last September, Montana became the latest State to allow transgender people to change the gender on their birth certificates following a contentious legal battle.

Meanwhile, in California, a dad claims he lost custody of his son after he questioned his transgender identity.

In a separate case, a Texas jury ruled against a father who had sought custody of his twin sons in his attempt to stop one of the boys, from changing his gender in 2019 when he was 7 years old. The dad expressed concerns Thursday that his ex-wife, pediatrician Dr. Anne Georgulas, will allow their son, now 9, to be “chemically castrated.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
WhatsApp is rolling out a feature that looks a lot like Telegram.
Investigations Reveal Rise in ‘Sex-for-Rent’ Listings Across Canada Exploiting Vulnerable Tenants
Chinese and Indian Leaders Pursue Amity Amid Global Shifts
European Union Plans for Ukraine Deployment
ECB Warns Against Inflation Complacency
Concerns Over North Cyprus Casino Development
Shipping Companies Look Beyond Chinese Finance
Rural Exodus Fueling European Wildfires
China Hosts Major Security Meeting
Chinese Police Successfully Recover Family's Savings from Livestream Purchases
Germany Marks a Decade Since Migrant Wave with Divisions, Success Stories, and Political Shifts
Liverpool Defeat Arsenal 1–0 with Szoboszlai Free-Kick to Stay Top of Premier League
Prince Harry and King Charles to Meet in First Reunion After 20 Months
Chinese Stock Market Rally Fueled by Domestic Investors
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
Ukrainian Nationalist Politician Andriy Parubiy Assassinated in Lviv
Corporate America Cuts Middle Management as Bosses Take On Triple the Workload
Parents Sue OpenAI After Teen’s Death, Alleging ChatGPT Encouraged Suicide
Amazon Faces Lawsuit Over 'Buy' Label on Digital Streaming Content
Federal Reserve Independence Questioned Amid Trump’s Push to Reshape Central Bank
British Politics Faces Tumultuous Autumn After Summer of Rebellions and Rising Farage Momentum
US Appeals Court Rules Against Most Trump-Era Tariffs
UK Sought Broad Access to Apple Users’ Data, Court Filing Reveals
UK Bank Shares Dive Over Potential Tax on Sector
Germany’s Auto Industry Sheds 51,500 Jobs in First Half of 2025 Amid Deepening Crisis
Bruce Willis Relocated Due to Advanced Dementia
French and Korean Nuclear Majors Clash As EU Launches Foreign Subsidy Probe
EU Stands Firm on Digital Rules as Trump Warns of Retaliation
Getting Ready for the 3rd Time in Its History, Germany Approves Voluntary Military Service for Teenagers
Argentine President Javier Milei Evacuated After Stones Thrown During Campaign Event
Denmark Confronts U.S. Diplomat Over Covert Trump-Linked Influence in Greenland
Starmer Should Back Away from ECHR, Says Jack Straw
Trump Demands RICO Charges Against George Soros and Son for Funding Violent Protests
Taylor Swift Announces Engagement to NFL Star Travis Kelce
France May Need IMF Bailout, Warns Finance Minister
Chinese AI Chipmaker Cambricon Posts Record Profit as Beijing Pushes Pivot from Nvidia
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
Ukraine Finally Allows Young Men Aged Eighteen to Twenty-Two to Leave the Country
The Porn Remains, Privacy Disappears: How Britain Broke the Internet in Ten Days
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Welcome to The Definition of Insanity: Germany Edition
Just a reminder, this is Michael Jackson's daughter, Paris.
Spotify’s Strange Move: The Feature Nobody Asked For – Returns
Manhunt in Australia: Armed Anti-Government Suspect Kills Police Officers Sent to Arrest Him
China Launches World’s Most Powerful Neutrino Detector
How Beijing-Linked Networks Shape Elections in New York City
Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Fled War To US, Stabbed To Death
Elon Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over Alleged App Store Monopoly
2 Australian Police Shot Dead In Encounter In Rural Victoria State
Vietnam Evacuates Hundreds of Thousands as Typhoon Kajiki Strikes; China’s Sanya Shuts Down
×